Saturday, September 28, 2024

Pakistan vs England: Olly Stone on getting married midway through tour

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Still, there remains the prospect of Stone being on the field at the end of the fifth day of a Test, then skipping continents to get married 24 hours later.

“If it goes to the last ball on day five, I won’t be hanging around,” he says. “I’m sure there might be a few aches the next day, but it will be worth it. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I proposed.”

The small matter of a stag do was dealt with in Leeds in March, but finding time for a honeymoon is tricky. Stone seems likely to be heading to New Zealand for three Tests in December and is an outside shot for the white-ball tour of India and the Champions Trophy in the new year.

It’s a contrast from the start of this season, when Stone put himself on the books of Great Witchingham Cricket Club near Norwich, alongside former England spinner Monty Panesar.

“I had a dodgy knee and I needed to get some overs in,” he explains. “It started out as an April Fools that they wanted to get me signed and I said, ‘actually, if I need to play would you have me?’

“During Covid they sorted me a place to bowl, so I felt like I owed them a bit in return. I haven’t managed to play for them yet, but I’ll be there for the foreseeable.”

When Stone says he feels he “owes a lot to Norfolk cricket” and “still keeps an eye on all the scores”, it says plenty about a man who knows there is a life beyond professional sport.

He has spent time with BBC Sport commentating on The Hundred and at BBC Radio Norfolk, trying his hand at football reporting – “not as easy as you might think” – and also dabbled in a business buying and selling willow for cricket bat makers – “it’s on the back-burner for the minute”.

For now, a Test series in Pakistan and a wedding is more than enough to think about.

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