As England enjoy a brief period away from touring, Isabelle Westbury looks at how sportspeople have utilised the spare time they have been offered
It was seven years ago that England's men last whiled away the month of December without a single day of international cricket. A welcome break, offering time to pause, to reflect, to concentrate on other things in life.
England’s Test skipper got married, a month after the ODI one did (having snuck away without the burden of three Tests in November). Instagram provided a fruitful coterie of the nation’s cricketers indulging in some resolutely non-cricketing exploits.
“I normally do my Christmas shopping on tour,” complained the BBC’s erstwhile cricket correspondent, Jonathan Agnew, as England wound up their final Test match of the year in Sri Lanka, in mid-November. Yet even for the most dedicated cricket enthusiast, 2018 was a heavy year.
It was one which saw England endure a gruelling Antipodean tour before playing host to the No.1 Test team in the world. As for this year, it will include both a World Cup and Ashes series. So some respite is surely welcome, if not unusual.
December aside, the last time England’s men had a full six months off from international duties was in 1993, after a disastrous Ashes series finally finished in August. The team did not resume playing until part way through February of the following year, in Barbados.
This story is from the January 18,2019 edition of The Cricket Paper.
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This story is from the January 18,2019 edition of The Cricket Paper.
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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