Away games, or as our American cousins would say, road trips.
One of the first things people look for over the winter is the new league structures when they are issued by the OCC. It is not just to see who you might be playing against, but just as importantly where you might be playing.
Away games have changed dramatically over the years. The road infrastructure has improved beyond belief when it comes to travelling across the province to away games. The trip to Rush from Pembroke for example, used to involve driving through the city centre, then out through Bertie Ahern’s Drumcondra onto the Airport Road and then onto the main Dublin-Belfast R132. These days it is the East Link Bridge, the Port Tunnel and the M1 and far quicker than days gone by.
Motorways have brought Laois 30 miles closer to Dublin and no ground is really more than 90 minutes away from Dublin city, with a couple of possible exceptions. Even Dundalk is just a motorway and an hour away.
However, away games still have the same hassles and gripes about them. The start is selection when a captain must ensure his team has sufficient transport to reach their destination and playing ability comes second to owning a minibus, SUV or MPV. Some players will attempt to travel directly to an away game and the captain must make certain that there is enough transport before permitting such latitude. Sometimes the worst part is being told that your spare seating capacity is required at the Club and having to drive across the city only to collect a single player and then drive out, going past your own house on the way.
If you are one of those players who requires a lift to an away game, your day begins early as you make your way to your home club and wait for someone, anyone to turn up. Doubts surface as time ticks past and you start to wonder if the team have forgotten you. There are times when you actually hope they have forgotten you and you will be left at the home ground with an open bar and a partner who thinks you are in Wexford, Mullingar or Knockharley and won’t be back until late, very late.
Finally, one car, then another, pulls into the car park. The only other danger now is that the team scheduled to be playing at home suddenly find themselves a player short for whatever reason and decide to pull you up two or three teams to play. The delight at playing at home is somewhat tempered by playing in Division 5 instead of 14 and knowing that you’ll not get a bowl unless the opposition are 350 for 0 at drinks, and your batting position will be a lot lower than it would have been and in fact, the only thing stopping you plummeting to 11 is that the usual 11 is unwilling to be promoted to 10.
Assuming you survive this possibility then you will be faced with the next decision, who to travel with? You will survey the car-park, trying to cherry-pick your transport. Several factors can come into play at this stage. Firstly, there are many types of car that travel to away games. The Young Urban Professional may be demonstrating his net worth by turning up in a nice nifty sports-car, perhaps an MX-5 with the roof down irrespective of the actual weather. The family man might have his MPV or what we used to call a minivan, which would normally contain his entire family. The advantage of these vehicles is that sometimes you can get to watch a DVD of SpongeBob SquarePants on the back of the driver’s headrest. These vehicles can carry more than their fair share of players, but also kit. Younger drivers might have “borrowed” their mother’s car and the boot will be full of unused shopping bags. Some drivers are also smokers and non-driving smokers are always very keen to secure a seat in these cars. The smoke will be billowing out of the windows and usually out of the engine too, as car maintenance comes lower on the list than another packet of cigarettes.
Sometimes it can be a simple as the choice of music that will tip a balance. I spent many a trip in the company of the legend that is Michael Sharp. A non-smoker, Michael made up for this by not even having a radio in his car. Instead he would regal you with songs from the musicals down the years and would even provide educating chats about all matters cricket, including, but not limited to, starring lists, cup draws and many other subjects you might raise, just for the reaction. Another former great, Cyril Irwin, was renowned for turning up to a ground last, even if he had left first. Cyril was prone to stopping on the journey because he had seen an unusual bird or other wildlife. Cyril was another educationalist and a joy to travel and play with, as long as you weren’t in a rush in the car, or in the middle.
One you have chosen, or had chosen for you, your transport there is the efforts to get your full cricket bag into the boot. Many a time the final bag travels in the car, strapped in by a seatbelt between the two unfortunates in the back. Talking of which I recommend always grabbing the front seat if it is available. The front seat has a chance of being able to select radio stations and also easy access to get out at petrol stations. The back seat occupants usually get the worst of it all: blown out of it with open windows, the conversation in the front is impossible to hear or follow and the poor sod is usually jammed in with kit bags.
The journey to an away game is full of hope and optimism. Smiles abound as players exchange their weekly news and their hopes and dreams for the game. However, the trip back afterwards can be sombre and full of recriminations. Discussions about the captain’s performance always rank highly. His choices from heads or tails to the batting order, to the fields set, to the bowlers used and in what order all come under scrutiny in the privacy and confidentiality of the car home. Talk can turn to umpires, neutral or otherwise. It is the otherwise ones that usually provoke the most heated chat. “I was well outside leg”, “he hasn’t a rashers”, “missing leg? Only by hitting middle”. Such chat does tend to be quite one-sided as one person always feels most aggrieved and has a captive audience to share his bile with.
Finally arriving back to your home ground, no matter the result, will bring relief. It may be silent relief, perhaps shown in an all encompassing sigh, but relief. It may be short lived as you realise that you still have to brave public transport to get home with a massive heavy and sometimes pungent cricket bag. Your day is nowhere near over. Others abandon ideas of any further travel and decamp to the bar where they find the player who had to sub up, propped up in the bar celebrating his 1* as they won by 1 wicket.
Just remember the next time you moan about your game in the outer reaches of Leinster cricket. You only have to go there but once a season, for the members of that Club they have to travel up to Dublin 6 or 7 times a season. They appreciate every team that visits and hospitality in the far flung corners is always top rate. Too many times teams give walkovers rather than travel. This is not fair to the away team, it is not fair to the other teams in your league and it is a missed opportunity to play cricket. So put away your frown, grab your bag and head out to the great unknown. Adventure awaits.