Day 84 - The Perfect Day........Almost!

Woke up around 7.30am & switched on Radio 5 Live On my iPad for the cricket that hadn’t long started. I listened to most of the New Zealand innings in bed & then got up for breakfast for the last couple of overs.

During the interval, we walked down to the beach & selected our spot. We had just got ourselves settled in our Walmart camping chairs with Radio 5 Live now commentating from my phone, when the England innings commenced. It seemed a fairly straightforward total to chase down, but it sounded like Roy should have been out 1st ball. It was going to end up being a nail biting morning!

The match progressed steadily with it being an even contest. With 10 overs to go, I was feeling extremely confident, surely Stokes & Buttler could bring it home. Jackie returned from our room with a couple of celebratory beers and I listened in horror as we lost a procession of wickets. A pod of passing dolphins following a pleasure boat couldn’t drag me from my chair.

As we all know, the match was drawn following a fluke by Stokes & went into a Super Over. During the Super Over the dolphins had chased a large shoal of fish towards the beach & amongst the swimmers including Jackie. I had no choice but to investigate, so I went wading into the ocean with my phone held to my ear. Unfortunately the dolphins, moved on just before I got to them.

Sussex County Cricket player Jofra Archer did the business with the ball, limiting New Zealand to just 15 runs, thus tying the Super Over & England winning on boundaries scored. It couldn’t have been a better day, sitting on a beach listening to England win the Cricket World Cup!

Well, yes it could, I could have been at Lords watching it in person or I could have been watching on a big screen television, but all in all in the circumstances it was the perfect day!

To celebrate the Historic Victory, Jackie & I walked tall along the beach to the migratory bird refuge & back again. No-one congratulated us on our World Cup win. Rude Yanks!

We returned to our hotel, popped out to the off-licence for some celebratory refreshment, then sat on our deserted balcony to bask in our victory. Later we returned to the Crest Tavern for a beer, Yeunglang, which is the oldest brewed beer in America. I had a blackened chicken Caesar salad & Jackie had a crab cake burger.

As I write, we are back on our balcony, Jackie is on white wine & I’m drinking Michelob Ultra (Superior Light Beer). Together we are reflecting on our unforgettable trip.

Song of the Day - Perfect Day by Lou Reed.Read more