The Joy of Six: Recent Episodes
Adam Preston
Adam Preston embarks on a long cherished dream to hit a six in a proper cricket match. With a dodgy leg, fading eyesight and a complete inability to bat he seems destined to fail from the off - but lockdown has introduced him to the world of self help and he's got a few new tools in his belt.
Adam faces the prospect of following up his triumphant three wicket tally in the first match. Aware that he has a history of doing things well and then deteriorating horribly he struggles to deal with his demons. Will he tense up? Will he over think? Can he cope with the shame if he does? All is not lost though as Adam has resolved to start listening to TED talks - and he has already picked up some great advice involving an ant and an elephant.
Despite his remarkable tally of three wickets for three runs in his first game for the village Adam is not selected for a 'T20' match and soon discovers why when he goes to watch. As he starts to prepare himself mentally for his next chance to shine Adam draws comparisons between his personal history and what might or might not happen at the next match.
Adam volunteers to help take down the old cricketing nets and gets rewarded with a place on the village team in a friendly against a nearby village. At first it starts to go very wrong when his old leg injury starts playing up - then something remarkable happens.
As lockdown comes temporarily to an end Adam gets to play his first game of cricket in 29 years when he is invited to play in an informal dad's game. But the informality does not mean he is safe from humiliation and disappointment and Adam is soon left wondering if he has not bitten off more than he can chew in his bid to hit a six.
Adam Preston sets out to hit a six in a proper cricket match despite a whole host of reasons why this is highly unlikely to happen. In this episode we learn the background to this 'impossible dream', discover the cricket club in the hamlet near where Adam lives and start to understand Adam's complicated and not altogether healthy relationship with competitive sport, with its foundations in a chequered school career.
We meet a huge Dutchman who encourages Adam to return, after almost thirty years, to the sport that he once found dull, humiliating and frustrating. Finally lured into a session at the nets, Adam starts wielding a bat and a ball once again - and is taken a significant step closer to tasting the glory that has always eluded him.