Here we go day 1

So today we take on my former besty team in the south, Hampshire, ahhh the heady days of spending a lot of summers with that  team.

And what a team, at that time there was still Robin Smith, the last days of David Gower and Mark Nicholas  not forgetting Malcolm Marshall.

Malcolm always had to time to chat, a lovely man.

I'll never forget Malcolm’s last Sunday league match at Northlands Road when due to rain meaning no play,, he asked all those who had been sitting around in the ground to join him in the pavilion for a drink.

Drinking (obviously) played a big part  apre game and this would start in the bar over the squash courts at the Northlands Road Ground, now sadly a housing estate.

We usually ended the night in Zorbas Kebab House in Portswood!

I met one of my greatest friends Martin Jean-Jacques there, and was at the United Services Ground at Portsmouth for the match against Durham when he suffered his career ending knee injury.

There are many other names that I rubbed shoulders with on a regular basis, some of these are or have been in the England set up in coaching capacities. Wood and Garaway and Shine being some of the  names.

My most feared man though had to be Norman Cowans who absolutely terrified me!

However none of them were as special to me as Terry, who was( and still is) the attendant  to the team and always took very good care of me.

When drinks were delivered to the field, there was always a drink for me.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Terry last year at the Ageas bowl, it was over 20 years since I had last seen him.

That made no difference it was as if we had seen each other last week!

We had some great times and lots of laughs, how the team laughed when I turned up late at Portsmouth after begging the man at the gate to let me park my car and give me my ticket for  the match, it would have been fine had I not taken a wrong turn and been  at the P & O  ferry  port!!!!!!

And today they are at my beloved Headingley.

I would like to wish them all the best in this match, however  I my cheering will be for my boys,

Hampshire may have been my besty team in the South  ( it was easy for me to get to matches in Southampton and the surrounding areas), but there is only one Yorkshire.

Come on boys, do your stuff,

#getbehindtheboys

#comeonyorkshire