On a cold winter's morning where the nets hang with raindrops from the previous night's cold downpour, you could be forgiven for thinking that cricket is still some way off and reset the alarm, turn over and go back to sleep for a couple of months. However, there are stirrings. England are in the Caribbean hitting sixes, obtaining wickets and sustaining injuries. All this, in readiness for their 1st Test of the year which is; just over a week away! The papers are bristling with comment; will Lord Marland effectively challenge Giles Clarke for chairmanship of the ECB? What do we have to do to ensure Test cricket remains the 'pre-eminent' (thank you The Times, Monday 26 Jan 2009) form of the game? Will Flintoff's side injury be something or nothing? Yes, there are stirrings in the undergrowth, just off from the boundary. However, as the economy goes starts its free-fall swallow dive into the gaping maw of oblivion, it makes sense to me to look at how the cricket fan can make some economies.Reading Material
Whilst waiting for tangible play, now is the perfect time for reading. Newspapers, as previously mentioned are bristling with news (which is just as well as it is what they are there to do!) but saving on buying 4 newspapers a day, which is costly to both the environment and the pocket is a reasonable economy to make. So, why not combine the need for news with that mainstay of the British economy (which, let's face it, you are never going to give up); the coffee. Most coffee places have newspapers available to read, for free! You are going to have that coffee, I mean, there are cost cutting-measures and there are cost-cutting measures, steady on, It's like breathing isn't it? So, combine! Just make sure that you get there early so you don't miss out upon the papers you want to read and end up with dog-eared old rags.
Books also fall under this category. We are coming to the end of the 'sale' period but charity shops are your friend. No honestly, they are. Although Oxfam are wise to anything remotely collectable and will be displaying prices that look like they have been appraised by the team from the Antiques Roadshow, other charity shops are less 'upmarket'. I got a copy of England's Ashes. The story of the greatest Test series of all time. 2005. Telegraph. London. Originally £17.99, saw it for £6.50, bought a copy for £1.75! Mint condition! One careful owner! Now that's what I call a recession-beater.
Clothing
Now I know 'technical' clothing is the way forward, with 'wickaway' materials such as ClimaCool and far be it from me to halt the march of progress. If it means more runs then I'm all for it but 'the Cricket Jumper'. There is something about 'the Cricket Jumper' that no other jumper can sartorially aspire to. Its replacement, the thin, scrawny 'techno-jumper', impostor that it is, means that a genuine, all-wool 'Cricket Jumper' is damned near impossible to get hold of and if you do happen to get within a sheep-hoof of, you need a mortgage to purchase it, which you can't get hold of because of the credit crunch! The England cricket team get theirs (used to get theirs?) from some expensive shop in London but you can't buy one unless you play for the team. Various cricket companies like Gray-Nicols and Gunn & Moore still produce jumpers but they are acrylic. If you want the sheep's best friend you have to go to Smart Turnout who provide old school (that's 'Old School', not 'oldschool' but then again, 'the Cricket Jumper' is so oldschool now) and old regimental (I refused to look at the American jumpers on offer, it's just not cricket is it?) cricket jumpers, in wool but they are expensive! And we are talking credit crunch here. So, as a last resort I found this from Crew Clothing Company. You cannot get them instore, I tried in both Bath and Bristol but online, half price! 100% wool, only a few left, then gone forever. The beauty of it is, I don't have to impersonate an old school attendee or bang on about my old regiment down the pub (not that I'm ever down the pub you understand). It is also a dark colour so I'm less out of place in the depths of winter. I may succumb to a cream acrylic one just for the summer but for now - credit is well and truly crunched!
Tickets
Now unfortunately, tickets do not fall into the same category as the above items. You can't purchase from a charity shop or get them at sale prices and there is none of this '3 for 2' malarkey. On websites such as Seatwave, the prices just go up. However, fear not, be judicious. Local cricket is cheapest, one of the non-19 county teams will enable a cheaper fix. ODI tickets are still available, claim one for a birthday or anniversary. I have, England v West Indies, Edgbaston. Visiting relatives? Then visit the nearest ground to imbibe the anima loci, it's free to look longingly though the gates (not too long though, you don't want to be had up for loitering now do you?). I'm hoping to get to Old Trafford and Headingley Carnegie in the not to distant future.
So, there you have it. Just a few ways to get 'cricketed' up without going bankrupt.
'Maximum Cricket - Minimum Outlay'
RP
Copyright © 2009 THE GREEN ORCHARD Ltd. All rights reserved.All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
No comments:
Post a Comment