Nought doesn’t have to mean nothing. For a No.11 striding out with a few left to get and one job to do – hold up an end – there can be unimagined heroism in the 0 not out.
“Bat on ball,” they say – all those teammates too crap to have got the thing done themselves – and there you are, heart-a-flutter, showing just how simple it actually is to just bloody well stay in when you need to.
Your partner gets the runs, but he’s not the only one raising his bat when you walk off with your triumphant red-inker. You know it’s cricket when even in zero there is glory.