It’s cricket season!

My favourite time of the year. I love cricket. I love watching it, I love checking the scores online and I love playing for the Tamborine Mountain Bushrats.

Cricket’s a funny game though. Some of us (the sane ones) love it and some of us totally hate it. I get it. It is hard to explain why I love the game so much to someone who sees five days of people standing around doing boring stuff and a game that ends in a draw after all that time.

My son, when he was 8, once said to me as we watched the Ashes on TV “Dad, cricket is the most boring thing on TV … But I just can’t stop watching it.” It has a certain magical appeal that is hard to explain to people who just don’t get it.

So why do I play? In general, I love team sports. I think it is the best way to “do” sport.

Any team sport. My encouragement to everyone in our community is to get out and join in with one of the myriad team sport options we have on the Mountain. It is a sure-fire way to increase your fitness levels, lose weight, improve your mental health, gain an emotional sense of belonging, and to meet new people.

And there is actually a tremendous amount of evidence to back this up. Studies have concluded that athletes who play team sports are healthier, more satisfied with life, have increased levels of long-term happiness and have better academic results. They live longer and have a decreased risk of disease such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Wow. How cool. But that’s not why I play.

I love the camaraderie. I love hanging out with a bunch of people who have the same passion as me and I love being around people who have my back. I enjoy the gentle ribbing that we give each other, and I love watching someone defend their teammate. And I love the time after the game. The time where we talk about our families, our work, what’s happening at school or how our kids are getting on. I love that the Bushrats have senior sides with people ranging from 16 to 56 years of age. It is unique and it is special.

This is an unashamed plug for the cricket club. If you love cricket, just give us a ring. Who knows, maybe you will get a chance to get back on the pitch again, chase that little red ball and hear the sound of willow on leather.

But more than that, this is an encouragement for all of you to get off your butt and join in some team sport in this amazing community. We have so many options for all ages. Every club on the Mountain has junior teams and senior teams, quite a few also have social as well as competitive teams. No more excuses. Find out what is out there and go and join in. If you don’t know where to start, give me a ring at Physique and I’ll get back to you with what options there are in this awesome community.