It's been a long three months without cricket and we've tried to fill our time looking back and looking forward, but as lockdowns ease, cricket is taking tentative - and experimental - steps towards a return, with West Indies landing in England for the first Test series since March this year.
But before players can don their whites and colours, there's work to be done on the field. Outfields need to be mown - at Old Trafford, for one, where West Indies team are settling into a lock-in at the biosecure ground to train.
How do you ensure the outfield remains just the right amount of green, through rain and frost and climate change? Some careful application of elbow grease ought to do it
Then there's the job of setting up outdoor nets so players can get in their daily practice safely.
How do you keep pesky pigeons from dive-bombing your perfectly prepared pitch? Former head groundman at The Oval, Bert Lock, had the perfect solution.
The scoreboards need painting. How much easier would it be if the players had names that were easy to spell? Electronic scoreboards? Where's the fun in that.
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Don't forget the crease markings to keep the batsmen and bowlers in line.
Gone are the days when the stumps were just three wooden spikes rammed into the ground. Now they're delicate pieces of electronic equipment that let you hear exactly what Tim Paine called Rishabh Pant at the MCG, and give you a batsmen's-knee view of what a delivery from Jofra Archer looks like when it's hurtling down at you.
You can tell a match hasn't begun yet from the state of the dressing room.
And let's not forget the most important bit of equipment in these current times without which not a ball will be bowled.
