The onward march of middle age

I was a little concerned a while back that in liking painting and gardening I was becoming middle aged. Well if these were the warning signs, surely it was confirmed a few months back when I took up golf.

I think it is the knowledge that save for a miracle my cricketing days are nearer the end than the beginning that drove me to it. When I started playing cricket in 95 I had never been coached, had played it twice at school and other than that it was back garden or park stuff. In 95 I started playing for a team in Kent called Beltinge. They welcomed me because I was committed. My ability was less important than the fact that I would turn up every week.

I used to bat at numbers 10 or 11. Occasionally I would bat higher. I remember one attempt at opening the innings. I didn't last long. As I moved round the country in subsequent years I worked on my batting but was still very much a low order batsman. Then about 7 years ago I transformed myself into a stubborn but not spectacular opening batsman. I started by becoming difficult to dismiss, then added more attacking shots. By 2004 I had got to the point that I won the League batting award. Added to there were sundry club awards. 2005 and 2006 saw me score fourteen 50s in total and amass loads of runs.

However things are now not so rosey. From 7 50s in 2006 I dropped to 2 last year. What was worse was that I knew I wasn't playing as well as I could. Partly it was due to a lack of fitness, partly to a niggling back injury, but I felt that it was also partly that maybe I had peaked the season before and was now on the decline.

Having fought so hard to get my batting up to standard I am not sure how much longer I can play when I know I am not playing well. And if I find myself dropping down the order again, at what point do I call it a day?

Because of this I took up golf. I've fancied it for a while. It's a sport that you never master. It's also a sport that you can play on your own. This appeals to me. If I fail with the bat at cricket I let my team down. If I play a bad round at golf it only impacts on me.

Now I'm not that great yet. I still have the beginners' handicap of 28. The lessons are ongoing and I really enjoy it. Yes I play some god-awful shots but the occasional good shots erase the bad ones from my mind.

So if this is middle age then I think I welcome it. There's a lot to be said for being content with yourself.