By Carly Odell via Northampton Chronicle and Echo
A Northampton man who suffered a stroke earlier this year was surprised by a visit from Northamptonshire County Cricket Club’s test match captain, Adam Rossington.
Patrick Egan has been a loyal fan of the club for more than two decades and has “pretty much spent his retirement at the County Ground”, according to his son.
However the 84-year-old suffered a stroke at the beginning of 2022 and although he is recovering well, Andrew Faulkner, Patrick’s son, says he is “wobbly” on his legs so is unlikely to be able to attend many games when the competitive season begins in April.
Adam Rossington visited cricket fan, Patrick Egan, and partner Pam Faulkner.
Andy said: “Dad would go for all four days [of the County Championship games] and pretty much spent his retirement down there.
“He is recovering well from his stroke and physically you wouldn’t know he’d had one, but he’s wobbly on his legs so I don’t think he will be able to go [to the cricket] as much and he’ll be missing it.”
To help lift his father’s spirits and make up for him missing watching live cricket, Andrew visited the County Ground to ask if staff would be able to arrange anything.
According to Andy, Ben Hartley, who works for the club, arranged the surprise.
Three weeks after Andy “popped” into the County Ground, captain Adam Rossington, visited Patrick at his Spinney Hill home for a chat and a cup of tea on Friday (February 25).
Andy added: “Ben made us proud. He came good on what he said he would do and he didn’t let us down.
“Adam was lovely. He had ‘AR’ on his top so I asked Dad who he thought it was and he said ‘it’s Adam Rossington’ and his eyes lit up. He was like a baby again.
“I know the players are really busy and I know what they have to do for training, so it was such a nice touch that Adam came to see Dad for a chat. He’s a top fella.
“Dad was so happy and he was so thankful that we’d made it happen.”
Andy also wanted to say a huge “thank you” to Ben, Adam and NCCC for making his father’s day.