Presence

It's been another strange day when I've found it simply impossible to focus. It has been pointed out to me that I'm rather discombobulated at the moment, and that is indeed the perfect word to describe how I'm feeling. The weather was similarly all over the place today. This is taken from a familiar spot, beside the Hanging Stone, pretty much directly above where I live. An hour before it was in thick mist, shrouded in the same hill cloud you can see in the distance. There was loads of running water all over the moor so it must have rained quite heavily in the night. I missed that completely.

I set the alarm quite early this morning because I didn't want to miss the second half of the day's cricket from India. England have a young new opening batsman and, never having seen him play before, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to take a look - or, as it happened, claim a little bit of ownership of cricket history. Everything I'd heard had suggested he was a pretty special kid with a remarkable talent and technique, and he would have to be that special to warrant selection at just nineteen years of age. His name is Haseeb Hameed. I think it's going to become a very familiar one to cricket lovers all over the world. 

The thing is that it's about so much more than talent and technique. There are many gifted cricketers around, but not too many that are able to express their talent and maintain their technique under extreme pressure, against the best bowlers in the world. That requires a certain presence. Hameed certainly has that. His composure and concentration was extraordinary. He looked perfectly at home on this biggest stage of all. He was mesmerising to watch, actually outplaying his partner and captain, scorer of over 10,000 runs at this level. With each run he scored, each defensive shot he played, each ball he left even, there was a growing realisation that I was sitting witness to the birth of greatness.

It was the same feeling that I got when I first saw Joe Root play, but even more so. Their very first innings both embodied a sense of sporting destiny. It's a once in a generation occurrence and it's now happened twice in four years. This will be completely lost on most people but it was as beautiful to watch as it was terrifying to witness that other moment of history being made this week. One is not quite an antidote for the other, but it's definitely helping! 

As I post this the following morning, watching the final day of play, Hameed posted the highest ever score for England made by a teenager. It might be something I tell my grandchildren about!