As you are aware we have finally been able to watch some international cricket again. We are very lucky that The England vs West Indies series was able to go ahead as planned and started on the 8th of July. Following which Pakistan have played a 3 test series against England and we have had some thrilling cricket. It has been fantastic to have international cricket back, albeit without spectators. We have seen some wonderful performances from all three teams and notably we got to see Jimmy Anderson get 600 test wickets, what a remarkable achievement that is.
We must give credit to the England cricket board for ensuring that all the safety measures were put in place and a bio-secure bubble created in order for these planned series to go ahead. We must also appreciate both West Indies and Pakistan for coming here during these testing times and fulfilling their commitments for the series.
‘Raise the Bat’ campaign
With the resumption of international cricket, the ECB started a fantastic initiative called raise the bat. This was a campaign to recognise key workers from the cricketing community who are helping support their community during the Covid 19 pandemic .Many key workers from different fields had their names recognised on more than 300 billboards across the country. The England team and management wore the names of 25 Key workers, from the cricket fraternity, on the back of their training shirts for the first test against the West Indies and yes I was one of those lucky ones whose name was selected!
What did the nomination mean for me ?
I was absolutely delighted to be nominated by Gulfraz Riaz at the NACC. Having worked hard during the most testing times as a Doctor on the front line against Covid 19. I have a dual role as a GP, working both at my surgery, providing care for 7000 patients and at the emergency care centre at Russells Hall hospital, providing essential care for both Covid and non Covid patients. Gulfraz being a good friend has seen the sacrifices I have had to make in order to make sure my patients are receiving adequate health care. All key workers, which includes healthcare, retail and transport staff have taken risks by continuing to do the job they do to ensure the smooth and safe running of the country during the pandemic. At times the pandemic has caused many anxious moments going in to work knowing at any point I could contract Covid 19 and not only be unwell myself but I could risk passing it on to my Asthmatic daughter. Tragically I had lost a young family friend, Areema Nasreen who was one of the first healthcare staff to die. She was just 36 and a nurse who sadly lost her life to Covid 19. Areemas death brought the harsh reality to light than any of us could die from Covid 19, be they young or old, or with or without pre existing health problems.
Despite this and despite losing many other colleagues across the country, I continued to motivate myself to go to work with positivity and a drive to continue to get my patients through this pandemic.
Being a huge cricket fan, I could not have asked for a better reward for these sacrifices. This recognition from the ECB has received a lot of support from across the globe and has provided me with the much-needed respite from the sadness that the pandemic has caused globally. 6 months in to the pandemic I had started to experience a little mental fatigue and this ‘award’ from the ECB has refreshed me and motivated me to continue to work hard.
Which player wore my name?
What was even more special about this recognition was that the player who wore my name is not only one of my favourite cricketers but he also belongs to the same club as me; Walmley CC. That cricketer is none other than Chris Woakes. I last saw Chris about 10 years ago when we both did our Level 1 ECB coaching course together. I never thought he would one day be an international cricketer making us all very proud. In fact when I tweeted to say how delighted I was by this recognition, Chris replied by thanking me for my efforts. He clearly still is the delightful and humble human being that I knew, from before he became a star.
My shirt will now be proudly framed and put up in my surgery so every time I am having a difficult day I can look at this recognition and continue to be motivated to do the best in my job and for my patients.
I want to finish by thanking every single key worker from every field for the sacrifices you have all made to keep our country functioning during these unprecedented times. Sadly we lost many colleagues during our struggle but they will always be remembered as heroes.
