Nine-month-old Mark Titmus packs for an overseas Test tour, with a little help from dad Fred © Getty Images

T The biggest bit of cricket news that broke recently was not the resumption of the game after the Covid-19 hiatus, or the IPL schedule, it was that there was a baby Kohli on the horizon, expected in January 2021. Cricketers kids are now celebrities in their own right, thanks in no small part to social media - David Warner's daughters Ivy Mae and Indi Rae are his regular partners in crime rhyme on Instagram, and MS Dhoni's daughter Ziva has entire fan clubs dedicated to her. Essentially, nobody puts cricket babies in a corner.

As a cricketer's kid, you've got to get into the game early, as Fred Titmus' son, Mark, shows, in the photo above: he's got his own bat and kit, and no doubt the Test cap is in the mail.

And at an age when most of us shovelling handfuls of sandbox dirt into our mouths, Len Hutton's boys Richard and John were dignifiedly sipping tea in their pyjamas, pinkies out, listening to broadcasts of the 1950-51 Ashes.

Richard (left) and John Hutton listen to their father become only the second England player to carry his bat, in the fourth Test of the 1950-51 Ashes © Getty Images

Brad Haddin's son Zac is not content being a spectator. He is also very sure about what role he plays in the side.

"See, Dad, you want to stay low, keep your eye on the ball and take it on the inside hip" © Getty Images

Rangana Herath schools his boy in the art of appealing.

"When in doubt, stick your index finger out and shout" © Getty Images

And Adam Gilchrist's son Harry knows just who he wants to be in a cricket team.

"Wicketkeeper-batsman? Pfft. I'd rather be just Batman" © Getty Images

You could be the most famous bowler in the world, playing your last Test, and reclaiming the Ashes for your country, but to your kids you're just another opportunity for an ear-flick.

Jackson (right) knows just what Shane Warne's last Ashes photo-op needs - bunny ears © Getty Images

Former Australia batsman Greg Blewett's son is a viral sensation. Sam Blewett is a pocket-size golf prodigy with his own YouTube channel, who has won praise from the likes of Jack Nicklaus.

Sam practises at home, popping ice from the dispenser with his club, then using the cubes as golf balls © Getty Images

You might recognise the little bean below from his expression, which has remained much the same for 34 years now.

Stuart Broad sits on his mother Carole's lap, looking like he's just been stiffed by the DRS © Getty Images

Who is Roger Binny's favourite bunny?

You won't get no cheek from serious Stuart Binny (centre) © Getty Images

Few know that Arjun Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar's son, aspired to be Ross Taylor when he grew up.

Never mind the leg-side orientation, he's got the tongue correct © Getty Images

Subcontinental kids know the importance of cross-border relations right from a young age. Here's Ibtasam-ul-Haq extending a hand of friendship to opposition captain Sourav Ganguly.

"You call that a handshake?" © Getty Images

Deepti Unni is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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