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Dog days

When staying in is a canine to five job

Deepti Unni | May 20, 2020

Commentator Brian Johnston and pooch gave us a prescient glimpse of what working from home would entail © Getty Images

In the last few months, with cricketers spending all their time at home, we're getting rare glimpses into their domestic lives, thanks to social media. And a surprising amount of that has involved pets - so much so that the canine slip cordon has emerged as a trend. Cats had a brief moment in the sun as the stars of lockdown cricket, but it seems they prefer football.

Pat Cummins and fiancé Becky Boston got themselves a puppy, Norman, last year, and Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc "haven't stopped giving it to me", Cummins told Direct TV, because Norman is a toy poodle. But he's a real fast bowler's dog, Cummins says. "He's tiny, but he will hurt you if you cross him the wrong way."

Norman has the run of Pat Cummins' massive Southern Highlands estate south-west of Sydney, though he would rather take the farm buggy, thank you very much © Getty Images

Long before lockdown, dogs had their place on the cricket field too. Baldrick, the groundsman's dog at Basin Reserve, would often join pitch inspections, like he does with David Lloyd here.

"Whaddya reckon mate, ruff pitch?" Chris Turvey / © PA Photos

They also make drinks breaks go faster

Play will resume after playtime Ben Birchall / © PA Photos/Getty Images

At home they can be cajoled into a spot of cricket with a promise of belly rubs, if you can get them to stop chewing on the equipment and return the ball.