Monday, July 15, 2019

Where better for England’s transgenerational trauma to end than the home of cricket, pretty as a picture in the evening sun

The sun was out when England won the World Cup. It had emerged, at last, from behind the freckles of white cloud and was shining low through the bright blue sky over the Grand Stand. The shadows stretched all the way to the wicket, the flags licked in the evening breeze, the pavilion glowed soft terracotta. The old place looked pretty as a picture, exactly how we see it in winter when thinking back on the games we saw, and the games we played, in the long, warm days of summer. For the 11 men in this England team, for the thousands in the ground, for the millions watching on TV, that is how they will always see it in their minds, years from now, when they think back on this match: the greatest World Cup final, heck maybe even the greatest game of one-day cricket, ever played.

The dizzying, sickening, drama of those final minutes were as compelling a stretch of sport as anything else that will happen this year, as gripping as anything, in fact, that has happened in the 14 years since the England cricket team last played live on free-to-air TV in 2005. Accurate viewing figures are notoriously hard to come by but, if Channel 4 could ever get hold of theirs for this broadcast, they will be disappointed with them because, even though all those sets were on around the country, surely most of the people in front of them were too scared to watch what was going on, were hiding behind their sofas, had their faces buried in a cushions, or sneaking glimpses from between their fingers.

Continue reading...

from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2XJihbv

Related Posts:

  • LATEST NEWSIsaac Chotiner interviews the Times reporter Nate Cohn about new polling data in key swing states, which reflects that Elizabeth Warren’s lead may not be as decisive as that of Joe Biden or President Donald Trump. from Every… Read More
  • LATEST NEWSMPs favour reforms such as £2 limit on stakes, with Boris Johnson seen as sympathetic Online casinos should be subject to maximum stake limits similar to the £2 limits imposed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), accordin… Read More
  • LATEST NEWSKaia Gerber and her supermodel mom Cindy Crawford look SO much alike, they could be sisters! from Hollywood Life https://ift.tt/2qfo4G5 … Read More
  • LATEST NEWSA native New Yorker, Mr. Tarantina studied acting in the city before going on to roles on the stage, in soap operas and in an Emmy Award-winning comedy. from NYT > Top Stories https://ift.tt/2C54mzv … Read More
  • LATEST NEWSNew supplies from Brazil, Canada, Guyana and Norway may add to a glut, posing a threat to producers in Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States. from NYT > Top Stories https://ift.tt/2NahtFQ … Read More

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Followers

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Popular Posts

FOLLOW BY EMAIL

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner