Most cricketers are not used to being stuck inside twiddling their thumbs – but it turns out that Liam Plunkett’s experience of franchise cricket has proved to be perfect preparation for life in lockdown.
England’s World Cup winning fast bowler should be in London with his Surrey colleagues as the start of the season approaches.
Instead, like pretty much every cricketer across the world, he’s in cold storage back home in Yorkshire, combining his studies for a personal trainer qualification with rides through countryside that, not too long ago, hosted the Tour de France.
With Great Britain, like the rest of the world, preparing itself for a marathon, not a sprint, Plunkett may have churned out a considerable number of miles by the time he ditches the bike and starts bowling again.
“Who knows how long this is going to last,” he says. “It’s a crazy situation but you just have to get on with it.
“As a cricketer, though, isolation is nothing new. Obviously, this is very different for a lot of people but when you’re playing in Twenty20 tournaments around the world you do spend a lot of time alone in your hotel room.
“You have a lot of time to fill because outside of training and playing matches, you’re on your own an awful lot. You have to develop some kind of routine. I’m trying to map it out every day.
“I’ll train in the morning, study for two hours, read for an hour and then train in the evening.
“It is what it is. You can’t do anything about it. Everyone is in the same boat.”
It’s certainly a far cry from England’s all-action displays at last summer’s World Cup – performances that had the 35-year-old assume centre-stage with the ball.
The Surrey quick – who made his England debut as far back as 2005 – took 11 wickets as Eoin Morgan’s side lifted a one-day world title for the first time, ending a 44-year World Cup drought.
Given those statistics, Plunkett could have reasonably expected to find himself as part of England plans moving forward.
Instead, he was ruthlessly dumped. Hardly the vote of thanks he was hoping for after playing a key role in England’s 50 over renaissance in the four years between their 2015 debacle and their 2019 rebirth.
If he was angry when he was first ejected from the side, the current international health crisis has helped him develop a fresh perspective.
“Cricket doesn’t seem that important when you compare it against everything that’s happening at the moment,” he says.
“Some people are going to take a massive hit, lives are going to be lost and it’s going to be a very, very sad time for this country.
“The frightening thing is the unknown and I think people have to stay positive.
“That can be easier said than done. You can stay positive for a couple of weeks but this may drag out longer, so people need to be wary of that and check in with their friends and family.
“You need someone out there to be that positive person.”
Plunkett was certainly a positive influence on that England dressing room last summer, with his quick bowling and no-nonsense lower order hitting helping to put a smile on the face of the nation.
Quite when any English cricket will get to do the same again is anyone’s guess.
Plunkett, meanwhile, is looking forward to returning to Surrey when the situation abates – and working with some of the brightest young players in world of cricket in the form of Ollie Pope and Sam Curran.
“You need to be on your A game just to get a game for that team,” he says. “The England team this winter was pretty much the Surrey academy side from a few years ago! You know you have to perform to keep your place in that side and that’s what I want in the twilight of my career.
“You want to be pushed and you want to be tested.”
