Heroes!

First, a caveat. I LOVE my Australian readers and my Aussie fellow authors. But this morning I am so proud of the England Cricket Team for winning the Ashes in Australia! I think I'm a little bit in love with them all, actually, for their achievement and their dedication and their skill. I've been a cricket fan for many years and have attended county matches and Test matches. There's nothing nicer than a summer day spent watching cricket – with a special picnic and Pimms to drink!

When I studied heroes for my MA one of the categories I looked at was sporting heroes. Some people I read dismissed the achievements of sporting heroes as being nothing special and not worthy of the word heroism. Of course a person who risks or gives their life for their country or to save others is the ultimate hero or heroine. But I think the concept of a sportsman who is tough, skilled, resilient and who shows integrity and dedication to his or her team is also something to celebrate.  In a very amusing article in the paper yesterday, Alastair Cook (pictured) was admired as much for his "brooding good looks" and his "knee-weakeningly long eyelashes" as for his batting skill. His coach said: "He's a fighter. He loves the game." A passion and expertise for what you do is very attractive.

The game of cricket has been around a long time and I've often wanted to use it as a background in a Regency book. One of my favourite historical novels, Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell, has a cricket-playing hero in Rider Sandman. Since the very best sportsmen embody many of the qualities I admire in the heroes I enjoy writing and reading about, a hero who is a star cricketer might be rather fun to write!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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