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Fan Zone 22/06/2023

Writer's picture: TUSTTUST

HOW DO YOU FILL YOUR SATURDAYS WITHOUT FOOTBALL? ENGLAND’S CRICKET IN THE ASHES IS BONKERS


RUBBISH CHAMPIONSHIPS IN WESTON-SUPER-MARE. REALLY?



It’s the middle of June, it’s summer and we all have had sunny, muggy days so what’s there to do for the football fan suffering withdrawal symptoms? How do you fill your Saturdays with no football?

Football finished at the end of April, United’s new squad are yet to start pre-season training and the new season is still weeks away (August 5).

You scour the internet for football stories hoping to come across something interesting; you keep looking at the club’s website, is there another player ‘on board’?

You trawl through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram just in case there’s a story you missed elsewhere.

What about the fans’ forums? United have three but you can tell there’s little news as there’s hardly any traffic with few meaningful posts.

Many go out and buy the Herald Express in the hope that any Torquay related news will keep us satisfied but let’s face it, it’s called the close season for a reason.

So, for many, thank goodness for cricket and this summer it’s the Ashes, that deadly rivalry between England and Australia.

And what a time to be watching, for under skipper Ben Stokes England are serving up a feast of attacking cricket, Bazball as it’s called.


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The Ashes, by the way, originated in 1892 when a small urn, 4.1 inches tall, made of terracotta was supposed to contain the ashes of a cricket bail presented to the then England captain, Ivo Bligh, on their tour of Australia.

A test match lasts five days so who on earth would declare their first innings on day one? Well, Ben Stokes did which Saturday’s national papers called ‘bonkers’. One pundit summed the decision up like this: “An utterly bonkers but totally brilliant and absolutely in-character declaration from Stokes.”

Going out to attack your opponent makes perfect sense as England’s cricketers have been demonstrating so let’s hope Gary Johnson can install this mantra into his squad to hit the National South from game one.

Recent pictures of the progress of Plainmoor’s pitch renovation show it wouldn’t disgrace a cricket ground.


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Summer is a bonkers time too for odd and unusual events and not just village fetes. How about this?

In Weston-Super-Mare at the weekend was the National Refuse Championships. Rubbish you say? No, really. It’s now into its fourth year with participants from around the UK. The event, on the seafront, involved twenty four teams who race to load wheelie bins with bags of sand before pushing them into bin lorries.

The purpose of the event is to raise money for charity, this year Alzheimer’s with £20,000 the target.


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There might be no football but TUST keeps busy. As a board we meet monthly to fulfil our remit to monitor all things Torquay United. Recently two of us represented TUST at the South-West Supporters’ Trust group - a body consisting of trustees from Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City, Bristol City, Swindon Town, Hereford United and Yeovil Town, the only one of its kind in the UK.

This year sees the Exeter City Supporters’ Trust celebrating their 20th Anniversary of ownership of the football club.


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Which night of the week to watch Torquay? This was last weeks question. Reader Tony Clark sums up, “ Mondays usually have a Premier League match on TV, Wednesdays often have a Champions League so keep it Tuesdays.”


Do you agree?

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