From Test match to wedding - Stone's Pakistan dash
Olly Stone is just over two weeks away from getting married.
For the fast bowler and his fiance Jess, the big day is Saturday, 12 October in Norfolk. The complication is that on Friday, 11 October, Stone could be 5,000 miles away trying to take England to victory in the first Test in Pakistan.
"It’s a bit manic, but a nice problem to have," Stone tells BBC Sport.
Not only is Stone hopping continents in order to say "I do", he is then planning to be back in Multan for the second Test starting the following Tuesday.
The story begins in August 2023, when Stone proposed on a beach in Norfolk after he and Jess had been out for dinner.
The Nottinghamshire man was enduring another injury-hit season. Two hamstring problems followed years of dealing with four stress fractures in his back, which had previously resulted in two screws being inserted into his spine in 2021.
By the time Stone presented Jess with a ring, the last of his then three Test caps was more than two years ago. The idea of a three-Test tour of Pakistan just over a year later seemed a long way off.
"We booked the wedding on the basis of me only playing for Notts at the time," says the 30-year-old.
"It wasn’t like I have ever put my life on hold, but in the past I’ve always looked at future series and not done stuff. Then you get injured, or not selected, and you think you should have just done what you wanted to do."
At the end of last summer, Stone spoke to England managing director Rob Key, who told him to put a run of games together in order to get back in the international frame.
During the winter, Stone played franchise cricket in Australia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. The metal in his back was doing its job and his body benefitting from regular pilates sessions.
After England gave James Anderson a tap on the shoulder, Key publicly mentioned Stone as a future member of the attack. The recall came to play in two Tests against Sri Lanka and the wedding was already less than two months away.
"When I was back in the England squad, Jess and I were wondering what we should do if I got picked for Pakistan," says Stone.
"Jess said she was happy to move the wedding and I was adamant on keeping it where it was if possible. For what she has given up and sacrificed for me, I thought the least I could do was to try to make it work.
"The squad was being picked and Rob said 'I hear you’re getting married'. I met with him and Brendon McCullum to have a few discussions on how to figure it out. We worked out I could be available for the first Test, go home to get married, then be back in time for the second."
The plan is only possible because of a quirk of the schedule – a rare Monday start for the first Test means it will be done before the weekend. Stone will probably be helped by the rarity of England Tests lasting five days.
There is also plenty of cover in the squad, meaning Stone might not be selected for either of the first two Tests. He is one of six specialist fast bowlers, including Chris Woakes, who should have been a guest.
Still, there remains the prospect of Stone being on the field at the end of the fifth day of a Test, then skipping continents to get married 24 hours later.
"If it goes to the last ball on day five, I won’t be hanging around," he says. "I’m sure there might be a few aches the next day, but it will be worth it. I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I proposed."
The small matter of a stag do was dealt with in Leeds in March, but a honeymoon is yet to be planned.
Fitting one in could be tricky, as Stone seems likely to be heading to New Zealand for three Tests in December and is an outside shot for the white-ball tour of India and the Champions Trophy in the new year.
It’s a contrast from the start of this season, when Stone put himself on the books of Great Witchingham Cricket Club near Norwich, alongside former England spinner Monty Panesar.
"I had a dodgy knee and I needed to get some overs in," he explains. "It started out as an April Fools that they wanted to get me signed and I said, 'actually, if I need to play would you have me?'
"During Covid they sorted me a place to bowl, so I felt like I owed them a bit in return. I haven’t managed to play for them yet, but I’ll be there for the foreseeable."
When Stone says he feels he "owes a lot to Norfolk cricket" and "still keeps an eye on all the scores", it says plenty about a man who knows there is a life beyond professional sport.
He has spent time with BBC Sport commentating on The Hundred and at BBC Radio Norfolk, trying his hand at football reporting – "not as easy as you might think" – and also dabbled in a business buying and selling willow for cricket bat makers – "it’s on the back-burner for the minute".
For now, a Test series in Pakistan and a wedding is more than enough to think about.
