Mark Ronson and Grace Gummer hold hands while taking their baby daughter for a walk in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood

By Sam Joseph Semon For Dailymail.com

Published: 02:50 EDT, 18 September 2023 | Updated: 02:50 EDT, 18 September 2023

Do you like drinking tea or taking a stroll in the rain? Did you know that walking backwards can help your memory – or that stopping yourself from being a mouth breather is good for your oral health?

This might sound like a bad mash-up of the ‘pina colada song’, but in fact these are all subjects (and more) that I’m covering in the new series of my podcast, Just One Thing (which launches next week).

As a reminder, in each episode of this series I take a close look at a different ‘thing’, something simple that could improve your mental and physical wellbeing in surprising ways. Here’s a preview of what I discovered…

Have a cup of tea 

We’ve become a nation of coffee drinkers, a recent survey found, with more Britons now drinking coffee than tea.

But has the pendulum swung too far – is it time to start drinking more tea?

The most popular tea in the UK is ‘black’ tea, which comes from Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia. The leaves are exposed to the air to darken, which, among other things, increases their caffeine content.

They’re also packed full of plant compounds called polyphenols that have multiple health benefits, including being good for our bones.

One study in Australia, which monitored more than 1,000 women aged over 75 for more than ten years, showed that those who drank more than three cups of tea daily were 30 per cent less likely to suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis, compared with those who drank one cup or less per week. (I’m particularly interested in this, as I have a family history of osteoporosis.)

On top of that, you will not be surprised to hear that drinking tea is a great way to relax. But not, as you might expect, simply down to the ritual; you stop work, put the kettle on, perhaps have a chat.

In fact, there’s a substance in tea, L-theanine, which studies show increases the activity of alpha brainwaves, which are associated with being calm and creative.

Stroll backwards

And after your cup of tea, why not put on your walking shoes and go for a stroll? Backwards. This might sound eccentric, but it’s a technique that’s been used in physiotherapy for decades to rehabilitate lower leg injuries.

It can improve your gait, balance and mobility, plus a study by Roehampton University in 2018 showed that walking backwards can sharpen your memory.

The scientists behind this experiment think that when you walk backwards physically, this helps you ‘walk back’ mentally, retrieving memories from something you did earlier. So if you’re wondering where you put those keys, perhaps a short stroll backwards will jog your memory.

When I first heard about this I was intrigued that something so simple and, frankly, weird could have such an effect.

It can be done on a treadmill, but with care you can do it safely in your own home or outside.

If you fancy giving it a go then start slowly, doing a few steps, then build up. Try it with a partner: the idea is that you face each other, holding hands, so while you are walking backwards they are walking forwards. Then you swap.

0r when it rains 

If walking backwards isn’t your thing, go for a conventional walk – but in the rain.

For starters, if you’re looking for fresh air, there’s no better time to go for a walk than a rainy day, because rain improves air quality.

A recent study in Japan found that as the rain falls, the droplets attract and wash away tens of thousands of polluting particles from the air. These particles, which are generated by traffic, are very harmful because they are small enough to penetrate deep into our lungs when we inhale them.

And then there’s that wonderful, earthy smell just after it’s rained.

It’s got a great name: petrichor, from the Greek word ‘petra’, meaning stone, and ‘ichor’, the fluid that in Greek mythology flowed through the veins of the immortals. That earthy smell occurs as water hits dusty or clay soils, releasing tiny air bubbles that scent the air.

The main component of petrichor is a chemical called geosmin, which is made by bacteria in the soil. There’s evidence that inhaling geosmin can make us feel good.

In a 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers asked 30 adults to handle soil that contained geosmin, and soil that didn’t.

After just five minutes’ exposure to geosmin, the volunteers had higher levels of the mood-boosting chemical serotonin in their blood and reduced levels of C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation that’s linked to depression (though why this happens isn’t yet clear).

Try to breathe through your nose 

I’d always dismissed claims that breathing in through your nose is healthier than through your mouth – after all, it still ends up in the same place (your lungs). But as I’ve discovered, being a mouth breather has considerable downsides, including reducing the amount of saliva you produce, making your mouth drier and increasing the risk of tooth decay and inflamed gums.

And nose breathing could also give your brain a boost. In a recent study, volunteers were given a memory test while in a brain scanner: when they breathed through their noses they performed better, and the scans revealed their brains were working more efficiently.

Studies at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have shown that nose breathing boosts levels of nitric oxide, a chemical that fights off infection in your sinuses and increases the blood flow in your lungs, raising oxygen levels in your blood and presumably your brain.

Listen to Just One Thing on BBC Radio 4 every Wednesday from September 20 at 9.30am – when you can also download the whole series on BBC Sounds.

Early nights may protect brain 

Trying to function after a bad night’s sleep is difficult: you feel tired, irritable and, if you are like me, you also feel an insane desire to eat something sweet.

While one restless night isn’t going to do much damage, night after night of poor sleep can raise the risk of dementia.

One theory is that if you don’t get enough sleep, especially restorative deep sleep, you get a build-up of toxins in the brain that can lead to brain damage.

That’s because when you are in deep sleep, a network of channels in your brain, known as the glymphatic system, opens up and washes away any toxic waste from the day.

Sadly, as we get older, we tend to get less deep sleep, which means that our brains aren’t as good at washing away the toxins. Indeed, young people typically have a couple of hours’ deep sleep a night, but when you get to my age (66), you’re lucky to get 30 minutes.

But the good news is that researchers at Binzhou Medical University in China have now identified a protein, pleiotrophin, that can – at least in mice – protect brain cells from damage by toxins. When mice were deprived of sleep, their pleiotrophin levels drop.

The hope is that we will find some way to pump up pleiotrophin levels. Until then, get an early night to try to maximise the amount of deep sleep you get.

Eat green bananas for healthy liver 

In last week’s column, I mentioned that cooking, cooling and reheating pasta turned the carbs in it into resistant starch, which isn’t readily broken down in the gut but acts more like fibre.

So not only do you get less of a blood sugar spike after eating it (because less of it is absorbed), but it also feeds the friendly bacteria in your gut. They, in turn, convert the resistant starch into a fatty acid called butyrate, which has many benefits for the gut, including reducing the risk of developing colon cancer.

Now a study has shown that consuming more resistant starch helps your liver, too. Researchers at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital in China recruited 200 people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a build-up of fat in the liver – one in three Britons has early signs of this condition, which is associated with a raised risk of heart attack, stroke and liver damage.

Patients in the study were given a resistant starch powder made from maize or corn to have twice a day, for four months. When compared with a control group, they had 40 per cent less fat in their livers.

They also had reduced levels of liver enzymes and inflammatory factors associated with NAFLD. The good news is you can easily increase your consumption of resistant starch by eating oats, legumes and green bananas. Or by cooking, cooling and reheating rice, pasta or potatoes.

They confirmed their romance in June.

And Holly Ramsay and Adam Peaty‘s relationship appears to be going from strength to strength, as he made an appearance in her latest Instagram post.

The daughter of chef Gordon Ramsay, 23, shared a gallery of images from her recent outings, which included a snap of the Olympic swimmer on a countryside dog walk.

Captioning her post: ‘Recently,’ Holly also shared off her abs in a daring black crop top in one image, along with another throwback snap from her trip to Croatia.

Other images showed the blonde beauty dressed in a glamorous black mini dress for a night out, and cycling shorts and an oversized shirt for a shopping trip.

Holly also shared a cute image with her little brother Oscar larking about in a photobooth, before settling down to make friendship bracelets with her family.

Earlier this week, Holly Ramsay stunned in a floral bikini as she shared throwback snaps from her sunny getaway in Croatia.

She showcased her sensational physique in a skimpy bikini as she posed against the idyllic backdrop for a sizzling snap.

The influencer flashed a sweet smile and appeared to be in happy spirits as she soaked up the sun.

Her new boyfriend Adam Peaty, 28, commented on her throwback snaps ‘Get me there’, along with a love heart face emoji.

The couple’s relationship has gone from strength to strength since they confirmed their romance in June.

Adam accompanied Holly to the launch of her chef father Gordon, 56, new Lucky Cat restaurant in Manchester.

Adam and Holly had enjoyed a PDA-filled getaway to Rome together late last month, which they eagerly documented for their followers on Instagram.

The week before, sources claimed Adam had been secretly dating for four weeks, and the swimmer has already spent time at her family home in Rock, Cornwall.

A source told The Sun: ‘Holly is a gorgeous girl and Adam sparked up a conversation on social media. He was liking a lot of her photographs on Instagram and he’s now made a move.

‘They have been seeing each other for around a month and Adam is made up. Holly invited Adam to spend time with her at the house owned by her dad (TV chef) Gordon and mum Tana.’

‘It gave them proper alone time and made them realise they wanted to become more serious.’

Rumours began swirling between the pair when Holly posted a selfie showing her preparing for a night out at the Cannes film festival wearing only a hotel dressing gown.

Holly then finally confirmed her rumoured romance with the former Strictly star, as they appeared to enjoy a romantic week together.

The stunner – who met the athlete when her sister Tilly, 21, appeared with him on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 – took to her Instagram to share with followers a sizzling bikini snap before tagging her new man, who was behind the camera.

As Mohammad Hassan lay seriously injured, 1,300ft from the summit of K2, dozens of fellow climbers carefully edged towards him, risking their lives as they clung to the side of the narrow ledge.

And then they kept on going – clambering around the stricken 27-year-old as they left him to die while continuing their own personal bid for glory.

Now, after footage of the incident emerged, their decision to leave him has caused an outcry among the mountaineering community.

Hassan, a father-of-three high-altitude porter from Pakistan who worked for Lela Peak Expedition, died after an avalanche on July 27 pushed him over a ledge while scaling the 28,300ft K2 mountain.

The footage shows people physically climbing over Hassan as he lies helpless in the deep snow. 

The video then pans over to show clouds several thousand feet below them, revealing just how high they were when the footage was taken.

The air is so thin at this elevation that all people seen in the video were wearing oxygen masks. 

It appears that just one person ended up helping him, an unknown rescuer who managed to keep him conscious for a while before he died of his injuries. There was no rescue operation to help the young man. 

Fellow climber Wilhelm Steindl, who also participated in the climb but had returned to the base camp earlier due to the dangerous conditions, told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he was sickened by the inaction of the fellow climbers.

‘It was a very heated, competitive race to the top. What happened there is scandalous.

‘A living person is left behind so records can be set. It only took 3 or 4 people to save him. Had I seen it, I would have climbed up to help the poor man.’ 

Despite these strong claims, differing accounts of the tragedy have circulated, leading to uncertainty over exactly what took place all the way up K2. 

Lakpa Sherpa, a mountaineer who was on the climb and took the video, told MailOnline that the footage doesn’t capture what actually happened: 

‘Some of the climbers and sherpas tried to save his life although he passed away. 

‘The climbers have all spent a lot of money to do this climb and there is the value of time too for the climb. Hundreds of climbers tried to save him but they cannot give up their mission. 

‘The reality is they have tried to save the life and this is below the great serace bottle neck, where it’s impossible to cross without rope so it’s a very difficult situation. 

‘Many climbers and sherpas told him to go back as he had very poor equipment and was not well equipped and also there was very bad weather during the summit window but he did not listen and then he fell down. 

‘It was very difficult to bring the body down. They have to summit the mountain. There’s only a little chance for them.’ 

Bulgarian climber Silvia Azdreeva, who was on the trip when Hassan died, said in a Facebook post that climbing K2 is not for the faint-hearted: ‘On K2 there is no one to save you that fast, you’ll have to wait for days if something happens to you. 

‘This mountain is not for everyone. K2 has a very heavy character.’

Shockingly, Wilhelm Steindl claimed that a party was held shortly after Mr. Hassan died in celebration of Kristin Harila, a Norwegian woman who set a new world record after she climbed the 14 of the world’s highest peaks in just over 3 months.

‘I didn’t go, I was disgusted. Someone had just died up there,’ the furious climber said.

He revealed in a GoFundMe set up for Mr. Hassan’s family that he leaves behind three children and a wife, as well as an elderly grandmother. 

At time of publication, the page has already raised £63,000.

The newly-crowned world record holder Kristin Harila said of the tragedy: ‘My heart and thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones of Hassan and I feel very sad about this whole situation.’

MailOnline has contacted Lela Peak Expedition for comment. 

K2 is considered to be the world’s most dangerous mountain as it has a fatality rate of around 19 per cent compared to just 6.5 per cent on Everest, according to estimates.

For every 20 people who summit Everest, only one summits K2 and there are inherently more risks.

Routes on K2 are not as defined or well laid out with the climb being much more technical with a combination of rock, ice and alpine climbing – and avalanches are also much more common.

The mountain gained notoriety as the ‘Savage Mountain’ after American mountaineer George Bell came down from the peak in 1953 where he nearly slipped to his death.

‘It’s a savage mountain that tries to kill you,’ he observed following his traitorous climb.

A vegan influencer who lived on an ‘extreme’ diet of raw fruit and vegetables could ‘barely walk’ and hadn’t drunk water for more than six years before she reportedly died from starvation and exhaustion, her friends have revealed.

Zhanna Samsonova, originally from Russia and known as Zhanna D’Art on social media, had been on the raw plant-based diet for ten years that consisted of fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices.

Ms Samsonova, who friends say was suffering from anorexia, became so weak in the final weeks of her life as a result of her extreme diet that she was practically bed-bound and it would take her ‘several minutes’ to walk up one step on a staircase.

The 39-year-old’s friends have revealed they were ‘horrified’ at her emaciated appearance and begged her to get help from doctors – but she refused and carried on with her diet of raw plant-based foods.

Ms Samsonova, who hadn’t drunk water for more than six years and instead replaced it with fruit and vegetable juices, died on July 21 while in intensive care at a hospital in Malaysia.

The influencer, who had over 10,000 Instagram followers and had been travelling across Asia for the past 17 years, reportedly died from a cholera-like infection that was exacerbated by her extreme restrictive eating, her mother told Russian newspaper Vechernyaya Kazan.

Ms Samsonova’s official cause of death has not yet been determined as her family try to get her body back to Russia amid bureaucratic delays.

There were periods when Ms Samsonova would practice ‘dry fasting’ – where she would refuse to eat or drink anything for days.

In the final months of her life, Ms Samsonova’s friends had desperately urged her to get help and eat more substantive foods – but they said it was ‘impossible’ to get her to speak to doctors or eat anything other than raw fruit and vegetables.

Olga Chernyaeva , one of the influencer’s friends, told the Russian newspaper Novye Izvestia: ‘I watched her journey to death for seven years. About five months ago, I met Zhanna in Sri Lanka and she had a haggard look. 

‘Her legs were swollen… It was amazing that she was still moving – I think she did it through pain.’

Ms Chernyaeva added: ‘I tried to talk to her, to convince her to seek help from doctors, to take tests. I showed her her body in the mirror and in photographs of past years. But Zhanna’s character was not simple, it was impossible to convince her on certain issues.’ 

Her devastated friend said that she watched helplessly as Ms Samsonova became ‘only bones’ and was left practically bed-bound.

Ms Chernyaeva said: ‘She was in bed for almost a month. If she got up, it was very difficult for her to walk – it took several minutes to overcome one step of the stairs.

‘I brought her fruits every morning – it was impossible to get her to eat something else. Boolean arguments didn’t work. Zhanna believed that death does not exist.’ 

Another of Ms Samsonova’s friends, who she met in Thailand, told Russian news outlet 116.ru: ‘It was scary to look at her, to be honest, her hands were like those of my 12-year-old sister, thin.’ 

Another friend said they saw Ms Samsonova a few months ago in Sri Lanka ‘looking exhausted’. 

‘They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified,’ they said.

‘I lived one floor above her and every day I feared finding her lifeless body in the morning. I convinced her to seek treatment, but she didn’t make it,’ the friend added.

Another friend said: ‘Ms Samsonova’s idle starvation was causing her to melt before our eyes, but she believed everything was fine.

‘Only her eyes, merry eyes, and gorgeous hair compensated for the dreadful sight of a body tortured by idiocy. Forgive me if it sounds harsh.’

Ms Samsonova refused to listen to their warnings and it proved fatal after she reportedly died of an infection and exhaustion exacerbated by her raw food diet.

The food blogger’s mother Vera Samsonova told local news outlets Ms Samsonova was supposed to fly home to Kazan on the day of her death. 

Vera did not approve of her daughter’s extreme diet and tried to convince her to introduce more balanced eating habits but she refused.

Ms Samsonova moved from veganism to a purely raw food diet consisting of vegetables and fruit, with the influencer sharing what she described as ‘healthy ‘ recipes on her Instagram profile.

The influencer, who appeared increasingly emaciated in her social media videos as time went on, would post footage of her eating her lunch which consisted of a whole melon and carrot juice at times. 

In another video, Ms Samsonova told her Instagram followers how she was having cherry tomatoes, an avocado and avocado juice for lunch. 

‘Despite the fact that I cook fancy raw dishes, I eat very simply myself. My food is simple, no oil, no salt, no dehydrated food and no protein,’ Ms Samsonova wrote in a post. ‘Today for lunch I have delicious avocado kefir, sweet cherry tomatoes and ripe avocado. Bon appetit.’

One person commented on Ms Samsonova’s recent post and wrote: ‘This is just pure starvation, not a healthy raw vegan diet. I’m sorry to hear it ended badly. I wish I could have helped you out of your eating disorder.’

Ms Samsonova had been following a vegan diet for about more than 15 years starting out by allowing herself fish and dairy occasionally. 

However over the years, her restrictive eating became more and more extreme and she eventually only ate raw fruit and vegetables alongside juice. 

She had claimed that her ten years on a raw plant-based had meant she was ‘in perfect health’ and ‘never got the usual seasonal cold’.

But in 2021, Ms Samsonova travelled back to her native Russia for the first time in nine years but immediately fell ill with coronavirus. 

Ms Samsonova said she had ‘ignored’ all Covid precautions before becoming infected and bizarrely claimed she ‘cured’ herself of the virus by dry fasting – where she did not drink or eat anything for more than ten days.

She wrote on Instagram: ‘I was the category of people who wasn’t afraid to get infected with viruses and ignored all the precautions, because over the past ten years on raw plant-based diets I was in perfect health and I didn’t even get the usual seasonal cold.

‘And ironically… I still got sick [with Covid] and was in bed for ten days.’ 

Ms Samsonova then went on to bizarrely claim: ‘I began to cure myself with dry fasting, since for a long time I have been practicing this method, as I can cure all ailments.

‘The illness gradually began to recede, already the days of dry hunger and I was getting better and better every day… The most critical time is behind me I have overcome this disease despite my unconventional treatment which many condemn.’

If you need help and support, you can talk in confidence to advisors at the charity Beat Eating Disorders by calling its adult helpline on 0808 801 0677 or youth helpline on 0808 801 0711. 

You can visit their website here: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/get-help-for-myself/i-need-support-now/helplines/

For wetter, for worse! Moment beaming bride wades through water to walk down the aisle after devastating typhoon swept the Philippines

By Olivia Jones

Published: 07:51 EDT, 1 August 2023 | Updated: 07:55 EDT, 1 August 2023

Furious adult film stars have walked out of the European Sex Championships, declaring the event ‘chaos’ that has ‘turned into a horror film’.

The inaugural tournament was set to begin on June 8, with a reported 20 representatives from a dozen or so nations descending on an undisclosed location in Gothenburg, Sweden to take part in the seedy tournament.

However, according to a report, the six-week event to determine the continent’s most elite sex performers was plagued with issues from the start.

‘The situation has gotten out of control. It’s chaos. More than that: it’s turned into a horror film,’ said Selva Lapiedra, Spain‘s representative, according to Marca.com.

Despite initial reports that Scandinavian authorities had recognised the event as an official sport, they have since clarified this isn’t the case and that an application by the event’s organiser to do so was rejected. 

But that did not deter Dragan Bratic who owns a number of strip clubs in the Jönköping area of Sweden, and who is understood to have set up the event to be live streamed over the internet to paying viewers.

However, it was reported last week that Britain’s representative — OnlyFans model Barbie Sins — has pulled out of the event citing ‘health complications’. 

The remaining 19 competitors hail from across the continent, including Spain, Italy, France, Ukraine, Russia, Finland, Croatia.

Participants in the championship were going to be assessed across 16 categories in ’bouts’ to be held over six weeks.

These included their skills in seduction and massage, their proficiency in sex acts, the appearance of their sexual organs, how many times they can orgasm, and their ‘artistry’ and ‘creativity’ in creating a seductive pose.

Bouts were reportedly set to last between 45 minutes to an hour for each category.

According to The Daily Star, female entrants were set to earn themselves £690 for each day they stayed in the venue, while men would earn £345-a-day.

The publication say the winner was promised £860,000.

However, it emerged this week that the contestants left the house over claims that Bratic had failed to pay them so far for their participation.

Lara Lee was another Brit who the Star said was set to fly out to Sweden on Monday, possibly as a replacement for Barbie Sins – but she pulled out at the last minute.

‘I learnt that people had been leaving over claims they weren’t getting paid so I decided to swerve it,’ she told the newspaper.

‘It’s sad because it was a great idea but it sounds like it’s been so badly organised and has ended up a bit of a shambles.’

Ukraine’s entrant Talia Mint posted a video from the house before she left, saying that she and the other performers had been excited to be part of the ‘project’.

However, the 24-year-old uploaded a video to her social media which appeared to show Bratic trying to grab her phone as she left the house.

She claimed in the clip that one competitor had been allowed to enter the competition without being tested for HIV.

‘He refuses to pay me for my time and my work and now you have all the information about this project, I want to get compensation,’ she said. 

She later said in a video that the police were called, but could not enter the property as they did not have a warrant. Now, Mint claims she is taking legal action against Bratic and the The Swedish Sex Federation.

It is believed that the organiser’s financial issues came about because not enough people were paying to watch the live-streams of the event. 

Other performers have also confirmed they have left the event, with the official representative group for sex workers from the Balkan region announcing the decision on Twitter on Friday, citing ‘insurmountable issues’.

‘The cameras were non-operational during the first two days of the competition, which hindered the proper execution and documentation of the event,’ Dobra Druzba (Good Friendship) said in a thread on Twitter.

‘We were constantly faced with overloading issues, making it challenging for us to perform effectively. The absence of representatives from the Swedish Sex Federation at the event greatly disappointed us. Also, there was no security personnel present, responsible for ensuring our safety and health.’

The group said there was no running hot water which ‘impeded basic hygiene,’ and that the sleeping quarters were ‘unsuitable as they did not allow for rest due to the early dawn in Sweden and the lack of blinds or roller shutters.’

The group also hit back at claims from the organisers that the contestants acted unprofessionally, accusing them of drinking. 

‘Alcohol was provided by the Swedish Sex Federation and we have written correspondence confirming that there was a so-called ‘party night’ included in the competition program,’ they said.

In a statement published by The Daily Star, the Swedish Sex Federation admitted that the situation was ‘not good’ and hit out at the contestants.

‘They all enjoyed all those popularity and took advantage of our organisation to promote themselves and now they ask for something that is not possible to fulfil.

‘We are really devastated with the current situation and we do not have any idea how this will end,’ the statement sad.

Organiser Bratic told the publication that the performers were not invited as porn actors, but as ‘contestants in the First European Sex Championship’ and accused them of not acting like professional athletes.

‘They ignored the rules of the competition and the Swedish Sex Federation and behaved unprofessionally and to the detriment of the federation,’ he said.

‘They even brought alcohol to the house and they did not act like sportsmen at all. All contestants are therefore disqualified from the competition.’

He bemoaned to The Star that none brought flags of their countries (except for Croatia), and that his organisation had to purchase them.

MailOnline has reached out to the Swedish Sex Federation for comment, but is yet to receive a response as of 3pm, June 16.

Why pirates never walk the plank: Truth is more gruesome than fiction in the golden age of piracy

• Rebecca Simon debunks the myths of 17th and 18th century piracy, revealing that the truth is even more shocking
• READ MORE: Pirates of the Caribbean and Men in Black Star Sergion Calderón passes away after a career spanning six decades 

By Mark Mason For The Daily Mail

Published: 18:53 EDT, 1 June 2023 | Updated: 19:24 EDT, 1 June 2023

Jonny Bairstow stopped smiling, just for a moment, when he contemplated the severity of the injury that shattered him just when he was riding the crest of a particularly high wave.

‘I did wonder whether I’d be able to walk again, jog again, run again and play cricket again,’ said Bairstow as he reflected on the badly broken left leg and dislocated ankle he suffered freakishly when slipping at his local golf course after the summer of his life.

‘Yes, there were dark times. So many things go through your head until you can get back playing. It’s like if you fall off your bike and hurt yourself. You’re thinking about that until you get back on it because of the bad memories. You wonder, is it going to feel the same?’

Bairstow was holding court at Old Trafford at the launch of the ECB partnership with Radox having got back on his metaphorical bike by both batting and, significantly, keeping wicket for Yorkshire in a second team game and two Championship matches.

He is delighted to report that playing cricket really did feel the same again and he is back in the England picture at the start of an Ashes summer when he hopes to carry on where he left off last year before he was so rudely interrupted by a cruel twist of fate.

‘It does feel a long time since the injury,’ continued Bairstow. ‘It was actually quite nerve-racking when I came back with the second XI. It was like I was 16 again and making my debut. But it’s been fine. There has been no reaction to the leg and it’s fun being back. That’s how I’ve looked at it. Great fun. And I’ve missed it.’

Rarely can there have been a more stark example of Kipling’s twin imposters. The triumph of being the first face of ‘Bazball’, with four spectacular centuries last summer in winning causes was followed by that disaster on the golf course and a grim winter.

‘Last summer was going so well,’ said Bairstow. ‘Then the injury happened the day after I was told I’d be opening in the T20 World Cup. I went through a lot of emotions watching the lads win it but of course there was a lot of pride.

‘Even when you’re injured you’re still part of the group. The boys have been brilliant, staying in contact and keeping me in the loop. The odd Face-time with the lads talking utter rubbish. Now I’m excited again. It’s going to be a new challenge and I can’t wait.’

That challenge, with Bairstow back in the dual role of keeper-batsman he relished before equally thriving as a specialist batter, will come somewhat controversially at the expense of Ben Foakes who has made way rather than most people’s choice in Zak Crawley.

‘I haven’t had a chance to speak to Ben yet but I’m sure I will do,’ said Bairstow. ‘I’ve been in that situation so I can absolutely feel for him. It’s the nature of sport. It’s not me making those decisions. Ben has been a big part of the last 12 months and there’s no doubt he’ll be back playing for England at some point.’

Now it will be Bairstow behind the stumps against Ireland and then Australia where he is confident his reconstructed left leg will stand up to the strain. ‘I don’t actually think it’s any different to fielding,’ he maintained. ‘You sprint, dive and change direction in the field. You’re squatting as a keeper and moving laterally but you’re not running at 25ks an hour to the boundary. It’s a different kind of fitness.’

But there will be a legacy to what was a very serious injury. ‘People have said to me ‘you’re limping’,’ said Bairstow. ‘But there will be little limps, little aches and pains. When there’s trauma there’s going to be an adaptation to the way your body moves.

‘But that’s ok. There’s a lot of confidence about this summer. The last time I played against South Africa last summer I was part of a special group doing special things. That remains the same. Can we carry on the way we have been against the Aussies? There will certainly be a belief we can. I guess we’ll find out in the next two months!’

Jimmy feels good, so we do too! 

There was more positivity at Old Trafford and it came from Jimmy Anderson, who confirmed the injury he suffered last week was a minor one. 

‘I feel good,’ said Anderson. ‘It was just a little groin strain and it’s a 10-day recovery period. I will be fit to face Ireland but whether I play or not remains to be seen because I’m desperate to play in the Ashes.’ 

The whole of English cricket will echo the sentiment…

Let’s hope backing Zak works out 

… but spare a thought in all this for Crawley. Yes, by any established cricketing logic, he is very lucky to still have an England place as the Ashes approach. 

But it is hardly his fault he has been backed so emphatically and it is harsh for him to bear the brunt of that negative reaction towards England’s latest selection.

The key now is for Crawley to make the most of his good fortune and prove Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum right in their judgment of him.

‘My failings in international cricket have been from putting too much pressure on myself,’ Crawley told the BBC. ‘That is the only reason. Whenever I have gone out there with the right attitude I’ve done well.

‘I have done a lot of thinking about my game, especially in the last couple of months. I look back at times I’ve played well and it’s when I’ve taken expectation away from myself and just played. If I do that then the scores will come.’

Crawley is a good player and a good man. It would be wonderful for himself and the England team if he really can justify that extensive backing with those big scores this summer.