It was 20 September 2021, two days after he captained Kent to victory in the Vitality Blast. “After that I went Indian Premier League, World Cup, holiday in the Maldives for a week where I got engaged to my other half, Sarah – I haven’t seen her since – and then Big Bash, then Test match, then here.”
These have been four whirlwind months, culminating most recently in a nine-hour, 820km drive from his BBL assignment on Australia’s Gold Coast to join England’s Ashes squad in Tasmania for his Test debut, followed a few days later by a marathon journey to join the Twenty20 side in Barbados via stop-offs in Sydney, Los Angeles
The much-travelled England wicketkeeper Sam Billings still wants a Test career and is desperate for a regular spot and Miami. “I’ve tried to work out how long the journey took about four times,” he says. “The amazing thing was I took offat 11am on the 18th and I landed in LA at 8am the same day. I’d been on a plane for 15 hours. I don’t know what day it is. It’s just great to be here.”
This story is from the January 24, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the January 24, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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