Monday 19th August, 2013

It's been a very special day for us today as our dear little daughter Romy Johanna Isabella Cowan turns one! What a trip the last twelve months have been - between her birth in the UK last year, a summer of touring around Australia, the Indian tour in February and March and now five months back in England, our baby girl has probably spent no more than six or seven weeks of her entire life in her very own bed at home.

When we found out early last year that Ed was going to captain the Australia A tour of England in mid 2012, we immediately made arrangements to move to the UK for a few months to ensure that Ed wouldn't miss the birth of our first child (due at around the same time). My parents and I flew to England in mid June when I was 32 weeks pregnant - the latest possible time you are allowed to fly internationally - and Ed followed us over a few weeks later with the Australia A team.

Romy was due to arrive smack-bang in between the final two Australia A matches in Birmingham and Durham, and with every chance that I'd go into labour while Ed was mid-game, I'd programmed Rod Marsh's phone number into my speed-dial (Rod was touring with the team as the Team Manager at the time). As it turned out our considerate little girl waited to show face until the end of the tour and at the conclusion of the final match on August 17, Ed raced back to Gloucestershire just in time to accompany me to hospital the next morning.

Now here we are today back in England on the first anniversary of Romy's birth and to mark the occasion, this afternoon we held a cupcake party in Kensington Gardens. Much to my delight everyone in our tour party made an effort to come along - a few of my remaining tour buddies helped me to set up a makeshift table of two ironing boards covered in a bed sheet (improvisation is key when you're away from home!) and most of the boys came and joined us after their all-morning training session.

For me personally, this afternoon was probably one of the highlights of this entire tour - spending down-time with all of our extended cricket family away from the cricket field, relaxing and enjoying a picnic in the park all sharing in our special family occasion. Lady Romy has to date spent her whole life on cricket tours, surrounded by a team of professional cricketer 'uncles' and 'aunts' and while the saying goes "when you can't be with the ones you love, love the ones you're with" we're pretty lucky that "the ones we're with" are a truly remarkable bunch.


Happy 1st Birthday to the youngest girl on tour, Romy Cowan!