A ride through the shires

Colin Bateman would probably not appreciate the thought, but he has become the elder statesman of the national newspaper cricket corps. For more than 20 years he has been the No. 1 man for the Daily Express, a period in which every other national newspaper has changed its cricket correspondent, some several times. To survive in such a demanding and exhausting role must mean he has more than his fair share of stamina and bloody-mindedness, qualities also handy in his occasional outings as a long-distance cyclist.

At the end of the 2008 domestic season Bateman combined his day job with his hobby and embarked on a cycling tour of the main grounds of the 18 first-class counties. That is to say, 1099 miles (longer than Land's End to John O'Groats) and 16 days of punishing travel.

Bateman and his fellow press-box survivor and two-wheel convert David Lloyd (Evening Standard) were joined on their adventure by Ian Todd, formidable former cricket correspondent of the Sun, who deserves special mention for taking on the challenge at 71; Alan Dracey, Bateman's real-ale loving nephew; and - to bring the average age of the peloton down a little - the author's two sons, Tom, 21, and Jack, 19. Guest riders dipping in at various points included Angus Fraser and Steve James.

They raised money - a fabulous £8000 in all - for the Laurie Engel Fund, which supports a new unit for teenage cancer patients at Birmingham Children's Hospital, and for Heads Up, a research programme for cancers of the head and neck. There is a short, intensely moving chapter by Matthew Engel, a former press-box companion of three of the cyclists, whose son Laurie died of a rare form of cancer, aged 13.

It does not spoil the story to tell you they made it on schedule after several punctures, many sharp words between father and eldest son, innumerable evening pints, and more chocolate and sweets than would normally be advisable for middle-aged arteries. Bateman's piece of string of the title, which he uses to estimate the daily distances, is just about vindicated as a reliable unit of measurement. It is a story to cheer the heart as winter draws in.

String Fellows: A Cycling Odyssey into Cricket's Heartland
by Colin Bateman
Matador
295pp, £12