Pakistan vs England: Olly Stone on getting married midway through tour

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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.

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