But the sound from the cricket field of leather on willow has been disturbed by frantic electioneering before a vote that could spell danger for Keir Starmer.
Labour has ruled Sunderland with an iron grip for decades, but the recent political upheaval has left it clinging to power. The party now has a majority of just six councillors, meaning it could lose overall control of the council next month for the first time since it was founded in 1974.
Starmer has visited the city twice in recent weeks in an attempt to avert a disaster that would undermine what could be a strong set of local elections for Labour across England on 5 May.
Rickleton is representative of Labour's struggle outside the big cities. The former mining village, 10 miles west of Sunderland, has been core Labour territory for generations. But last year it broke with tradition and elected a Conservative councillor, one of six voted in across the city on a night when Labour lost nine seats. This year the council leader's seat is up for grabs, and the Tories are eyeing what would be a major scalp.
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