A Bowl of Cherries

Cherry Ripe

A cricketer hearing the word cherry will automatically think of that shiny new ball, red lacquer gleaming and the gold letters of the maker's name proud in the sun.  So firm is that term in the cricketer's vocabulary that it is used even to describe the white ball used in ODIs.  Fantasy Bob has a bit of a problem with this loose talk - in the fruit trade white cherries (usually an early season fruit) are actually pink so the pink ball can justifiably be called a cherry......... but a white ball is just a white ball.  

Anyway, cherries, as in cherries and not as in new balls white pink or red, are the latest fruit to be given superfruit status given the growing evidence of their many health benefits.  Cherries have extremely high antioxidant content and have 19 more times Vitamin A than blueberries or strawberries. Yoh for cherries! Tart cherries in particular help to improve sleep quality, reduce inflammation, speed muscle recovery and can help combat arthritis and reduce the risk of gout.

As skipper of Carlton's All Star Fourth XI, FB fears that the risk of gout is ever present in certain members of his team, arthritis is a constant subject of conversation before, and of occasional practical demonstration during and after, matches.  Muscle recovery is a thing of the past, a distant memory.  Sleep quality is uncertain - particularly in those who are asked to field in the deep.

For medical purposes - new superfood

Now FB sees the solution. As part of his rigorous preparation for the new season he will ensure that the empire biscuits he consumes are adorned with a cherry rather than the increasingly common, but unhealthy, jelly tot.  He recognises that a glace cherry may not quite have superfruit status but it should be enough to guard against the risk of gout.  In order to speed his muscle recovery, his training regime will  increase his consumption of cherry cake.  Once the season is underway selection will depend on a willingness to supply an adequate quantity of  Mr Kipling's Cherry Bakewells for the tea table.

Life will be a bowl of cherries and a successful season assured.