Dear Editor,

There is a strange, silent game being played in friendships today: Who will text first?

One person notices that they have not heard from a friend in weeks but decides to dig in their heels. After all, “If they really cared, they would text.” Somewhere across town, the other person is thinking the exact same thing.

And so the silence continues.

Perhaps modern friendship is better understood through the lens of a classic opening partnership in Test cricket…the kind in which Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes walked out to face the music, wearing down hostile attacks session after session. Two batsmen share the crease bound by a quiet brotherhood, an absolute dependency on each other and the certainty of support, especially when the bowling turns fierce.

They faced the tough times together, and celebrated individual milestones as though they were shared victories. Neither is keeping score of who faced more deliveries or who took the first strike. The collective objective is to build something together.

There are difficult periods when the bowling is hostile and runs are hard to come by. That is when the partnership matters most. One batsman may be struggling while the other finds a way to keep the scoreboard moving. They adjust, communicate, and stay together, knowing that weathering a brutal spell requires patience.

Friendships can be much the same.

We have somehow turned communication into a test of who cares more. Who called first? Who sent the last message? Who checked in? We wait for the other person to make the first move, as though initiating contact means we have somehow lost the contest.

But there is a difference between making an effort and chasing someone. If you continually reach out and receive little interest in return, that tells you something. But if neither person is making the effort, perhaps neither has earned the right to complain about the silence.

A good partnership requires both people to contribute. It requires communication, patience, and the willingness to keep the scoreboard moving.

So stop worrying about who texts first. Send the message! Make the call! Check on your friend! Let the partnership develop!

And if, after repeated attempts, you find yourself batting alone at the other end, then perhaps it is time to acknowledge that the partnership has run its course. But until then, why declare an innings over when neither player has even taken strike?

Clifton Martin

St Ann, Jamaica

itnopretty@yahoo.co.uk