‘You’re waiting for bombs to go off’: Cricketer flees Doha for UK amid missile strikes
Daily missile alerts became routine for ex‑Northamptonshire cricketer Mal Loye
Former England cricketer Mal Loye, who previously played for Northamptonshire, has returned to the UK from Doha due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Loye, who is currently the coach of Qatar’s national cricket team, arrived at Heathrow on Thursday night after coaching activities were suspended. The 53‑year‑old had been living in a high‑rise apartment hotel in the city and said what was frightening at first had started to feel like part of daily life.
He said: “Just the experience of hearing bombs above where you live was very scary.” He explained that having the US military base right next to the cricket ground only heightened the seriousness of the situation. “Most days there were waves of four or five missiles overhead,” he added.
''It was just a consistent wave of bombs of different times."
The decision to return was prompted by safety concerns amidst uncertainty and escalating threats. Loye explained, "It could escalate, and that's the reason probably why we got out. You don't know what's going to happen next."
Loye said missile‑warning alerts sounded regularly on his phone, often waking him during the night. “You’d get the alarm on the phone – the alert would come up at whatever time, day or night,” he said.
“Weirdly, you kind of got used to it.”
He said he only went to the hotel’s underground car park “once or twice” to take cover. Staying on the 15th floor, he had been warned to keep away from the windows because, when the blasts happened, “the buildings used to shake” he said.
The situation meant Loye and the coaching team stopped all in‑person training, moving the Qatar squad onto virtual sessions instead. He said much of daily life in Doha had come to a standstill. “Everything is on hold,” he said, adding that it reminded him of “the lockdown we had six years ago”.
He explained that people were “not really allowed outside”, although at times he was able to go out “for a little bit of a walk.''
Reflecting on his time in Doha, Loye said daily life often felt ''surreal'', with people trying to maintain their routines despite the situation. He said it had “become a way of life” and that people “get used to it”, although many who had the option were choosing to leave.
''We pray that everybody's safe over there.''
Loye said it was difficult to leave Doha, particularly knowing that many of the people he had got to know did not have the option to move to safety. He explained that many residents are migrant workers, meaning they did not have the opportunity to leave the country as easily as others.
''There was a real sense of sadness because there's a lot of people there who don't have the option of going back to their home.''
Despite recent events, he said Doha is still “a wonderful place” to live. He added, "I’d been telling everyone back in England about the safety I felt while simply walking around the streets and malls...and then this happened."