Summer should only start at the moment

when the first ball of the opening innings

of the first test is sent down the pitch

by a bowler who has found an extra yard

since Christmas.

Whilst April and the wet dew of Spring

heralds the days when you can ignore family

for six months of luxury

of a set of headphones firmly

implanted down the ear

and the commentator’s eye finding

the slow drawn crease akin

to the artistry of Michelangelo’s David

and attendance of the

Test Match Special an unbreakable law

to which Wisden and wisdom

do not break,

Summer only starts when first ball is delivered,

and sometimes is over, even before

the first batsman walks back to the boundary.

Ian D. Hall 2017