🏏 Alarm at 1:45 for the overseas Test again

Alarm went off at 1:45 last night. Day 2 of the Test, overseas, start of play at 2. I made chai in the dark kitchen, trying not to bang the steel vessel against the stove. Then I sat on the sofa with the TV on mute and the commentary on my phone. Nobody else in the house knew. My daughter slept through all of it, as usual. The first session was slow. Then a wicket fell and I shouted with my mouth shut. That's a strange feeling, being excited by yourself at 3 in the morning with nobody to look at. I texted my group chat. 4 of us were awake, in 4 different cities, all watching alone. One of them wrote, why are we like this, and nobody had an answer. My wife asks every series why I don't just watch the highlights in the morning. I tell her the highlights are a summary. She says that's exactly what she wants. I've tried. Once. I knew the result by 7 and the whole day felt like old news. Live is different, even if live means falling asleep during the last half hour. I got 4 hours of sleep and my afternoon at work was a disaster, with 3 cups of tea that did nothing. I nodded through a 4 o'clock call and missed my own name. A colleague asked if I was okay. I said, Test match. He understood immediately. He supports a different team and was awake too. Alarm is set for tomorrow again, 1:45. I'm typing this at my desk, half asleep.

I tried this for 2 series and gave up. My exams were 3 weeks away and I flunked a paper. Now I record nothing and watch the last session after work, avoiding my phone all day. It's not the same as live, I know. But my marks and my mother both forgave me. Do you ever just fall asleep on the sofa and miss the best bit? I always did.

I do this for series in England and my mother still brings me tea at 3, no questions. The first hour is the best. Quiet street, 1 dog barking, and the pitch looks so green. Your group chat sounds familiar. Ours has a rule that you can't send spoilers to anyone asleep. Nobody follows it. The wickets always get typed before the thought even finishes.