Under the lights: handling the glare and how it quickens cricket up

In the years before Netflix, doom-scrolling and any feeble attempts at courting, most of my evenings were spent either at training, doing homework, or curled up on the couch with Coach Eric Taylor and his Dillon Panthers.

I would contemplate how exhilarating it must be to have every movement, mistake or accomplishment illuminated from the four corners of the ground and broadcast live. How it might feel to perform under sporting spotlights and to be adored (or despised) by a raucous, hot dog fuelled crowd. (And, perhaps, how it might feel to date head cheerleader Lyla Garrity).

Last week, at the Kia Oval, Surrey men’s Vitality Blast campaign began with a win against Lancashire under their own Friday Night Lights, the players driven this season by the hunger for a first T20 title since 2003, and the atmosphere powered by £9 pints and the pavilion’s punters.