Watching the Ashes with Clif at his joint we started discussing the walk between the changeroom and the pitch for batsmen who have just got out. The space between the changeroom and the pitch is an interesting space. The changeroom is literally a ‘standing reserve’ of batsmen. The pitch is literally the field of action. What sparked my interest was the nature of the walk; in particular whether or not batsmen remove their helmet.Â
I was thinking it would make for an excellent paper for exploring public performances of affect. If you are ashamed or annoyed do you remove your helmet? If you are pleased with your innings, then how do you walk? How do you carry your bat? Where do you look?
The space in between the pitch and the changeroom — the space of the walk — is extraordinarily intense. It is a highly polarised field between poles of action/potentiality and readiness/stasis/depotentiality.