Irvine’s piece is a septet which is a stanza of seven lines (also called a heptastich). I haven’t come across cricket poetry septets before and thought it was unusual.
Irvine was the author of 69 books on Goodreads, a poet, editor and fiction writer, with an interest in cricket.
JOHN IRVINE
Irvine was the author of 69 books on Goodreads, a poet, editor and fiction writer, with an interest in cricket.
JOHN IRVINE
Choosing to Play Cricket
A Sicilian Septet
Of all the sports you might possibly choose to play
The one that fires the most livid confusion is cricket.
A single game can last a week or maybe just a day
While you yawn in the shade of a boundary thicket
Wishing you had some cold beer and a book to allay
The exquisite boredom when no-one captures a wicket.
Then Fine Leg saunters in and becomes Bowler. Play!
Poem © John Irvine
(From Valley Micropress, Nov/Dec 2015, New Zealand poetry magazine)
An obituary for John, can be found at the Poetry Archive of New Zealand Aotearoa website: https://poetryarchivenz.wordpress.com/2026/08/28/john-irvine-1940-2025/
