Steve Patterson, the Yorkshire captain who has gone from skipper to sir over the last couple of months, says he remains hopeful of a two-competition county programme this summer.
Patterson’s focus has gone from leading the White Rose’s summer bid for silverware to homeschooling and keeping his two young children occupied as well as maintaining fitness ahead of a potential return to cricket.
The 36-year-old seamer, who has claimed nearly 600 career wickets across all formats, has also reiterated his praise for Britain’s army of key workers who are keeping the country as safe as possible during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Patterson first spoke of his admiration for those in an open letter to Yorkshire’s members last month.
“It’s a very unique time for everybody, and to be honest I feel privileged to be in a position where I don’t have to put my health at risk in the same ways others are doing,” said Patterson.
“I am able to spend some quality time at home with my young family, but I am in awe of work others are doing – the NHS staff and people like that.
“It makes you realise how fortunate we are.”
Patterson is currently on furlough leave from the club along with the majority of cricketing and office staff employed at Emerald Headingley.
He is maintaining fitness at home, where his two youngsters – four-years-old and six, are having to be educated and entertained.
“It’s been a case of a bit of home schooling with the eldest and trying to keep the youngest occupied,” he continued.
“We’ve got into a bit of a routine. It was a challenge at first because, at that age, I don’t think they can really understand the situation and the perspective. To them it’s just another school day, albeit done from home.
“But we’re finding a way through it.
“It’s all been very different.
“This time of year I’d usually be away quite a lot. We should have been in India for two weeks on tour in March and then away a lot more from there onwards.”
Despite the nation heading into its seventh week of lockdown, the feeling of having no cricket to play or watch remains very strange.
“It is very difficult, but what’s helping me get my head around it all is the fact that we hadn’t started the season,” said Patterson. “When we downed tools so to speak, we were still a month away from our first game.
“Having played for so long, mentally I build myself up to the first game of the season.
“Although we’d got to India and had done a day’s training, we were still so far away from the start of the season and I hadn’t got my head around playing that first Championship game against Gloucestershire.
“So, my thoughts are that it hasn’t really been taken away from us because we hadn’t played that first game yet.
