The game of cricket, to a genuine addict, is like crack cocaine. The more time you spend with it, the more you come to appreciate your favourite blend and the greater dependency you form on your suppliers. My supplier is New Zealand Sky TV, and six days ago they shot me in the arm with a dirty needle.

I had been weaning myself off English test cricket since the Ashes. I had no choice. My dealer withheld my supply and replaced it with shot after shot of Australian and New Zealand class B supplements. Like methadone, the substitute stopped the shakes but missed the sweet spot by a country mile.

And then, six days ago, Sky TV New Zealand, rolled up outside my Auckland house in a gold and black two-tone Mark 3 Cortina, complete with leopard skin seat covers and a bass that can split eardrums from 300 yards. The driver rolled down the tinted window and flashed a gold tooth at me. A knowing smile that said; “we have the good stuff today”. Being the junkie that I am, I didn’t hesitate, five days of captain Flintoff was indeed the good stuff and I had to have it.

Day one of the first test against Sri Lanka was for me, a very intoxicating affair. I found myself reliving a routine that I hadn’t performed since the Ashes finished last year. Kids off to bed, dinner finished, blanket by the sofa, coffee pot ready, mobile phone with alarm set at 2 hour intervals lest I miss a session, God this is fun! House getting quiet, lights off, English accents!, LORDS, butterflies in the stomach even, man I’m too old to feel like this! But such are the joys of being an expat England cricket fan in New Zealand. There is a sense of drama at settling down to watch the start of play at ten o’clock at night.

In the end, the match petered out to a draw that should have been a comfortable win. I won’t complain though. It is these days a rather special occasion to watch live English test cricket, and I’ll take my fix whenever I can.

Bookmark to: