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About the Writer
Matt Harris is the chief cricket writer for ItsOnlyCricket.com and he has been covering the sport for over twenty years. In that time, Matt has written match previews for many of the big tournaments including the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash and both versions of the limited overs World Cups.
A keen cricketer himself, Matt played at village league level for more than twenty five years. An enthusiastic all-rounder, one of the highlights of those playing days came in 1990 when his Hertingfordbury village side toured Barbados in their centenary year. The backdrops were stunning and the cricket was fierce with the bowling far too fast to handle with any certainty.
Since retiring from the pitch, Matt has looked to stay involved with the game by taking ECB recognised umpiring and scoring exams. He also runs the cricketingtimes account on instagram which showcases photographs of amateur and professional cricket grounds from all over the world.
As a fan, Matt was first taken to an Ashes test as a schoolboy and quickly fell in love with the game. Since then, he’s been lucky enough to see England play test cricket in Barbados and New Zealand and he hopes to add to that list in the not too distant future.
At county level, he was brought up in Hertfordshire so didn’t have a major county to get behind. His hero at the time was England batsman Derek Randall so he began to support Nottinghamshire and he still follows the side some forty years later.
Trent Bridge is his favourite ground in England but he’ll also be happy to travel into London for games at Lord’s and the Oval. By following Notts from a distance, he hasn’t formed a bitter rivalry with any neighbouring counties and is happy to add Grace Road in Leicester to his list of favourite grounds. It’s a smaller venue with friendly staff and stewards and one that is on the regular list of annual visits.
His most memorable game came at Lord’s in 1989 when Nottinghamshire beat Essex from the final ball of a dramatic one day final. With four needed off the last delivery to win, Eddie Hemmings squeezed John Lever through backward point to claim the trophy. After the game, fans were allowed onto the hallowed Lord’s outfield and Matt can confirm that the slope is, indeed, quite a remarkable one.
In 2021, there are plans to add Headingley and Derby to the list of grounds visited as long as supporters are allowed back into the stadiums. Once able to move overseas, the ambition is to watch games at the Sydney Cricket Ground and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. The Indian Premier League is also a target as the competition provides an atmosphere like no other. Bangalore and Chennai are, therefore, also added to the wish list.
A lifelong love of the game has now extended into this website and Matt hopes that his knowledge of cricket, gained over many years, can help more readers to fall in love with the sport.
More About Matt Harris
- Personal blog of Matt – propercricket.com
About Us
ItsOnlyCricket.com is owned and managed by Cutts Media Ltd. With more than 6 years of experience in sports website development, we launched this site with the intention of providing the best possible content to our cricket loving readers.
