The High Moors

We love our cricket in this household. At about 4.30 am I got a call from Forrest to get up to watch the England v India Test Match. Cook and Pietersen had withstood the first few dangerous overs of the morning and were going well. We both had a sense there was magic in the air. The way they played yesterday, especially Kevin Pietersen, suggested that something rather special was on the cards. There was no way I was going to be able to turn over and go back to sleep.

As it turned out, I would never have forgiven myself if I had missed this day's play and the chance to watch the amazing events unfold with Forrest, and then later, with Roam too. It was rather wonderful 'father and son' time, sharing our mutual love of our game.

From beginning to end it was totally compulsive viewing. On a difficult pitch where the ball was starting to pop and turn prodigiously, KP made batting look easy. After Cook departed (having played a beautiful innings himself), the fact that almost all the other batsmen, from both teams, struggled to score is an overwhelming testament to the genius of Pietersen. Where most failed to get into double figures. KP scored 186 imperious runs. Taken in context, it must rank as one of the very greatest innings I've ever witnessed. We've not won yet, but it's certainly only our game to lose from this point. By all rights it should be straightforward, but I know from bitter experience that such epic test matches often throw up one final twist to the tale.

When it comes to cricket I am something of a purist. I like tradition and shots that are right out of the coaching manual. That's how I was taught and what I grew up with. To my mind there is no better sight than a classic cover drive, with the ball played along the ground all the way to the boundary. Pietersen, however, does not play in quite that classic way and I find it easy to forgive him for that because he breaks the rules with such style. He has always played his own game. You would never coach your kids to play like KP. They simply wouldn't get very far in the game if you did. After watching his frenetic efforts in the last match I wasn't expecting too much this time around - except that he is one of those special breed of people who perform at their best under pressure. The pressure was on him massively in this innings and he responded in a truly massive way. Adversity seems to ignite something inside the man.

I should really find myself put off by his cockiness but somehow this arrogance is tinged with a likeable vulnerability. The way he got to his hundred today - with an audacious reverse sweep - was almost contemptuous of the bowler, but at the same time you watch his face and he has all these nervous tics going on. He embodies so many contradictions. And that's perhaps why so many cricket fans have taken him to heart. Perhaps he represents lots of things we can recognise in ourselves. He's not the traditional all-conquering sporting hero. He's a very human figure. He makes mistakes, some of them huge mistakes, but he also has the humility to admit when he's in the wrong and face the music. I sometimes feel that there is still a lot of the little boy in the man still. And that just seems honest to me. Most men suppress that within themselves. Perhaps KP's genius resides in not having completely grown up!

The cricket has made serious inroads into my working day, and left me no time at all to respond to the lovely comments you've left over the weekend. I so need a big catch-up. It rained all night and all morning, but I dd get out for a run this afternoon to keep myself sane, and caught some lovely late afternoon light. This is a shot looking out over the valley to Round Hill from high on Ilkley Moor.

It's going to have to be an early night. The lads want to get up for the start of play and I don't think I can sleep while they are watching the drama unfold. This passion is almost a curse!

PS I was not alone!