Liam Plunkett: My wife is in the USA and I don't know when we'll see each other again

But for a few lessons in preparation for his wedding, Liam Plunkett, by his own admission, is no dancer.

“Way back when I used to think I could dance, but no, that’s not me,” he laughs.

And so, until fellow England cricketer Mark Wood got involved, Plunkett was enjoying the quiet life in lockdown, alone in his cottage near Harrogate without his American wife Emeleah, who is in Pennsylvania, or family.

Wood, having clowned around in his garden, nominated Plunkett for a dance challenge on social media.

“It’s me, myself and I here,” says Plunkett. “He [Wood] put the pressure on. I said, ‘There’s no way I’m doing what you did… why have you nominated me for this? Give me a press-up challenge or something like that!’”

But Plunkett knew he had to give the people what they wanted so, reluctantly, he acted. Inspired by “one of my favourite comedies”, Old School, starring Will Ferrell, he attached a red resistance band to a twig and started leaping around outside to the theme tune to Chariots of Fire.

“I wanted something that could be over quickly,” he reflects. “I thought I’d suck it up and, hopefully, people could get a good laugh out of it.” With 25,000 views on Instagram, they certainly did.

The incident reflects Plunkett’s sunny approach to what is a difficult time for all.

There are frustrations, though.

Plunkett, who turns 35 on Sunday, wants to remind everyone that he is as fit as ever and that last summer’s World Cup Final win was not simply an unforgettable farewell.

After being absent for all bar nine games of his first season at Surrey, Plunkett was hoping to settle in south London on and off the field. Now, there is nothing but uncertainty regarding the start of the season.

“Obviously, you want to play cricket, that’s my living and I love doing it,” he tells Standard Sport. “But my mentality has shifted. It’s more important that my family is healthy. Dad has had some transplants, so is housebound for three months anyway. We’re all healthy, touch wood.”

And then there is Emeleah. After more than a decade together, their respective professions (she is a director of financial planning and analysis for American educational software company

Ellucian) and the tyranny of distance mean they are used to being apart. This time, though, who knows when they will be reunited?

“I’d love to be with her,” he said. “We are used to this situation. When someone takes something away from you, you want it more. We know we won’t see each other for a while, we don’t know when we are going to be able to travel to one another. That’s the unknown. It could be six months or longer. You think the worst, hope for the best.”

Not one for moping around, Plunkett is keen to use this time wisely. “What’s going on is shocking, but what can I get out of me being alone?” he asks.

For years, Plunkett has been candid about managing his mental health. He uses exercise, the app Headspace and routine, which is key right now.

“It’s nice to have a goal, structure each day,” he says. “That works for me. When I get up, I ask myself, ‘What can I do today?’ Whether that’s study, exercise, reading, cleaning, something so you feel like you have ticked a box at the end of the day, something to be proud of.”

Currently, structure is brought by study. He is training to be a strength and conditioning coach, with half an eye on what comes after cricket, a desire to “give something back to the game, but also a belief that greater knowledge of the body can extend his career.

“My day consists of some running or cycling in the morning, lunch, a few hours of studying my different modules, then some fitness later on,” he says.

“I’m trying to keep busy, I don’t see many people but that’s okay. As a cricketer, you travel around the world and this [situation] is not too unknown, especially when you’re in the subcontinent, where you might be hotel-bound outside games.”

There are no complaints, either, about some shoddy treatment by England, who simply moved on from a great servant this winter. As they played in New Zealand and South Africa, Plunkett was plugging away in white-ball leagues in Abu Dhabi and Bangladesh.

“That’s gone, it’s a closed book,” he says. “I love playing for England, but there’s more important things in life. I had some of the best years of my life playing for England. I was disappointed but you’ve got to crack on.”

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