Despite the loss I’m glad to say that I’ve managed at last to play cricket again !
It’s been some time coming, since my last back injury over two years ago led to the muscle in my left leg ceasing to function, but my objective of getting back onto the cricket pitch was achieved on Saturday. Admittedly I was a very late call upon the Friday evening as I hadn’t thought I was ready yet, but encouragement from Marianne and friends won me over. I also hadn’t intended that my first game back would be a South Northants Premier Division game rather than a social Sunday plod around the pitch, but I managed to at least contribute a catch to the scorecard.
It’s been a long road back to playing sport again, and a reminder that the older one gets, the more difficult it can be to recover from serious injuries and get back to living a healthy life. Muscles don’t rebuild quite so quickly; joints don’t move quite so easily; you don’t bounce quite as well as you used to !
The first step to getting back on the cricket pitch was physiotherapy, exercise and committing set times to go to the gym and worm in particular on rebuilding the left leg muscles. Creating a habit by having a regular schedule, which was shared with others who would hold you to account, was crucial in making this a first step and not the only and last step.
The second step was joining Brackley Rugby Club for Walking Rugby. It’s more energetic than you might think and both a great social event and a great way to get back to fitness, physically and mentally. Adding that element of competitiveness and an environment that was more than just exercise but not so challenging that you could do nothing but fail moved the plan on and set it up for the next stage.
The third step was to try a gentle bit of bowling in the nets. Nothing too dramatic but just regaining the confidence that when I planted my left foot my leg wouldn’t just give out. After months of falling over even just standing still, it’s a strange feeling to not be able to trust your own limbs not to let you down.
The final step was having support from those around that matter to you. Being told yes, you should do it, is very important. Even if you know yourself that it’s the thing to do, that validation from people that you know and trust is key to being able to make the decision and be confident that it’s the right decision.
Achievable objectives, a plan on how to get from A to B and the support and validation of people that you trust – the road back to sport and the road to financial independence aren’t a million miles apart it would seem
