As with so many things in life that we unthinkingly take for granted, it often takes the loss of something – even temporarily - to make us realise just how much we valued and appreciated it.

Which is perhaps why the tentative promise of a new and full competitive cricket season this year suddenly feels like a treat.

So, as we prepare for what we hope will be six months of glorious weather and glorious cricket (nothing wrong with hoping), now’s as good a time as any to spare a grateful thought for the bravery, foresight and serious negotiating skills of those early Sunbury CC pioneers who decided to pool every penny they had to buy an old meadow down near the river for £3,333 - a third of the original £10,000 asking price.

And a view from the air on a sunny summer’s day reminds us just how special that patch of old meadow has become.

Here’s to 2021.