here

Transcription

here

The World’s Best Cricket Magazine
23
HING
PAGE
C O AC S P E C I A L
ISSUE
3
TRANSFORM
YOUR
GAME
Morgan’s wristwork
FIRE UP LIKE FINNY
RAMPS’ RULES
Find that extra yard
TURN IT SIDEWAYS
J O E O OT
R
featuring...
E W
V
I
S
U
L
EXC INTERVIE
GOLDEN BOY
IS ENGLAND’S WunderkinD TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
ISSUE 104 JUNE 2013 |
ISSUE 105 JULY 2013 |
£4.25
£4.25
NSTERS!
O
M
BACK-BREAKING BATS
BROAD COLLINGWOOD finn harris KEEDY kieswetter
masters mills morgan NASH nixon RAMPRAKASH
roy salisbury SANGAKKARA SOLANKI topley TROTT
Denmark’s Freddie Klokker
appeals successfully for the
stumping of Gayashan Munasinghe
WELCOME
TO YOUR MAGAZINE
Welcome to another edition of ICC Europe news, this
month we are looking forward to the ICC European
Division 1 Championship, our showcase event of the
year will take place from 8-13 July across four venues
in Sussex. As a pathway event the winner and runnerup will go straight into the ICC World Twenty20 Global
Qualifier later this year in the United Arab Emirates.
We welcome everyone to come down to Sussex! The
Finals Day at The BrightonandHoveJobs.com County
Ground, Hove will be all ticketed to get your limited free
admission voucher go to www.icc-europe.org
Welcome to another issue of All Out Cricket magazine,
brought to you in partnership with ICC Europe. This
month, with the Ashes drawing ever nearer, we lead off
with a brilliant interview with England’s cherubic, fakebeard-wearing wunderkind Joe Root. Elsewhere we’ve
got another dispatch from Steven Finn from inside the
England dressing room, a one-way meeting of minds
with the formidable Ed Smith, Dirk Nannes on the IPL’s
‘difficult’ sixth season, the ten most heartbreaking run
outs on 99, four enormous bats for hire, and a taster
from this month’s coaching special. If you like this little
lot, you’ll find a very agreeable magazine subscription
offer on page 40, while on alloutcricket.com we’ll be
running news, features and competitions throughout
this huge summer for cricket. Enjoy.
Nick Pink
ICC Regional Development Manager - Europe
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news and events from
ICC Europe by following us on Twitter and liking us on
Facebook!
Twitter
Facebook
2 | AOC | JUNE 2013
Phil Walker
Editor, AOC
DIVISION 1 CHAMPIONSHIP
Words: Tim Brooks
In July twelve European cricket nations will
meet in the picturesque county of Sussex to
take a major step towards qualifying for the
ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh next year.
The much anticipated event is the flagship
tournament of the ICC Europe development
programme, showcasing the cream of cricket
on the continent.
The event will feature Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar,
Guernsey, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Norway
and Sweden and is the culmination of a
regional qualification process that began in
June 2012 and encompasses 24 Associate
and Affiliate nations.
The profile of associate and affiliate cricket
has increased significantly in recent years
as the ICC’s membership has passed the 100
milestone and the World Cricket League has
demonstrated the quality and excitement
of cricket beyond the test nations. This is
reflected in the choice of venues for the
tournament, providing excellent pitches
and facilities to ensure the highest quality
of cricket. Group games will be played at
Horsham, Preston Nomads Cricket Club
and Blackstone with the final played under
floodlights at the famous Sussex County
Cricket Ground, Hove. Players will be
enthused at the prospect of following in the
footsteps of greats of the game such as Tony
Greig, Mushtaq Ahmed and Matt Prior.
In a pioneering initiative ICC Europe will
live stream the tournament in partnership
with Quipu TV. Live coverage of the finals
will be available along with highlights of the
group stages. This exciting announcement
is part of the ICC’s continued commitment to
raise the profile of cricket in its development
regions to boost interest and participation
and enable supporters to follow their team,
wherever they are in the world.
With the prospect of a glamorous and
profile raising trip to Dubai and world cup
places up for grabs the tournament promises
to be exciting and competitive. The favourites
will be Italy and Denmark, who won
promotion when the tournament was hosted
by Jersey two years ago. Italy have a dynamic
team well suited to the shortest format of
the game., including star all-rounders Peter
Petricola and Carl Sandri. Home grown swing
bowler Luis Di Giglio is an exciting prospect
and will feel at home having enjoyed a recent
spell as overseas player for Horsham.
Denmark have long been a European
cricketing powerhouse and formerly
competed in English one day tournaments.
Their star player is keeper-batsman Freddie
Klokker, who has made two first-class
centuries and recently featured in a list of top
50 non-Test cricketers of the modern era. He
will be ably supported by all-rounder Michael
Pederson, a former MCC Young Cricketer,
and experienced leg-spinner Bobby Chawla.
The Danes will be keen to reassert their
credentials after recent demotions in the
World Cricket League.
The two channel island teams of Jersey
and Guernsey could pose the stiffest
competition. They both have a rich cricketing
heritage and boast players with county
experience. Guernsey’s partnership with
Sussex, that includes player and coach
exchanges, will be an advantage. Their
talisman is all-rounder Jeremy Frith whose
astounding World Cricket League record of
1000 runs at an average of 62, eclipses even
Irish stars Kevin O’Brien and Will Porterfield.
He will be supported by a talented seam
attack including James Nussbaumer.
Jersey have their own star in accomplished
batsman Peter Gough who will be looking for
the accolade of top run scorer. A promising
www.alloutcricket.com | AOC | 3
ICC European Division 1 Championship
Saturday 13 July 2013
The County Ground, Hove
International Twenty20 action
Semi-finals 11am and 2.30pm
Floodlit Final 6.45pm
Free admission for the holder and up to three guests
Subject to availability
www.icc-europe.org
WATCH FOR FREE!
Come and celebrate the Finals Day with us- enjoy a fun filled day out
with the family and whilst watching international twenty20 cricket
at an iconic location all vouchers are free so download yours now!!
Downloadable vouchers are available from www.icc-europe.org
Visit the tournament website here for more information.
Denmark captain Michael
younger generation will be looking to
Pedersen with the trophy
inspire Jersey including Ben Stevens
last time around
a graduate of the ICC European Men’s
Academy.
The continental challenge comes from
France, Germany and Belgium. The latter
two have featured in the World Cricket
League and all have made great strides
to increase participation and develop
competitive domestic leagues. Norway
and Sweden represent Scandinavia and
Norway in particular will be a team to
watch under experienced English coach
Peter Brett. They have a reputation for
clearing the boundary and setting large
totals and if they get some momentum will
be hard to beat.
Gibraltar have a small but tight knit
community on ‘the rock’. They have
invested in youth in recent years and young batsman Kieron Ferrary is one to watch.
Austria represent central Europe, a surprising growth region for the sport, and will be keen
to finish above local rivals Germany. The Isle of Man, like Sweden, were promoted from
division 2 and enter the event with an impressive record in youth tournaments and a
reputation for fitness and athleticism.
ICC Europe organise a busy calendar of tournaments for its members, including
age group and women’s championships. The concept of progressing through merit is
embedded in all events, enabling teams to demonstrate their development over a period
of time. The first division has a long tradition stretching back to the last millennium and has
recently changed from a fifty over to a T20 format, to incorporate more sides and serve as
the regional qualification pathway for the world cup.
On the 14th July two sides will be celebrating and beginning preparations for Dubai
where they will join the European High Performance Programme teams Ireland, the
Netherlands and Scotland, who qualified by virtue of a top six finish in the 2012 event.
FIXTURE LIST
BIG SHOT ISSUE 105
8 July
10.00: Sweden v Italy (Horsham 1)
10.00: Gibraltar v Austria (Horsham 2)
10.00: Isle of Man v Denmark (Preston Nomads 1)
10.00: Germany v Belgium (Preston Nomads 2)
14.30: Guernsey v Norway (Horsham 1)
14.30: Italy v Gibraltar (Horsham 2)
14.30: Jersey v France (Preston Nomads 1)
14.30: Denmark v Germany (Preston Nomads 2)
9 July
10.00: Sweden v Norway (Preston Nomads 1)
10.00: Guernsey v Austria (Preston Nomads 2)
10.00: Isle of Man v France (Horsham 1)
10.00: Jersey v Belgium (Horsham 2)
14.30: Sweden v Gibraltar (Preston Nomads 1)
14.30: Isle of Man v Germany (Horsham 1)
14.30: France v Denmark (Horsham 2)
14.30: Norway v Italy (Preston Nomads 2)
11 July
10.00: Austria v Sweden (Horsham 1)
10.00: Guernsey v Italy (Horsham 2)
10.00: Belgium v Isle of Man (Preston Nomads 1)
10.00: Jersey v Denmark (Preston Nomads 2)
14.30: Guernsey v Gibraltar (Horsham 1)
14.30: Norway v Austria (Horsham 2)
14.30: Germany v Jersey (Preston Nomads 1)
14.30: France v Belgium (Preston Nomads 2)
12 July
10.00: Gibraltar v Norway (Horsham 1)
10.00: Germany v France (Preston Nomads 1)
14.00: Italy v Austria (Horsham 1)
14.00: Sweden v Guernsey (Horsham 2)
14.00: Denmark v Belgium (Preston Nomads 1)
14.00: Isle of Man v Jersey (Preston Nomads 2)
13 July
11.00: Semi-Final: A1 v B2 (Hove)
11.00: 5th-6th: A3 v B3 (Blackstone 1)
14.30: Semi-Final 2: B1 v A2 (Hove)
18.45: Final (Hove)
25.05.13
HEADINGLEY, LEEDS
STRONG YORKSHIRE,
STRONG ENGLAND
The Yorkshire faithful savoured something close to
perfection on the first day’s play of the second Test
against New Zealand. Jonny Bairstow’s half-century
and Joe Root’s history-making maiden Test hundred
set England on their way to a series-clinching
victory and put the Tyke tyros right at the heart of
England’s batting future.
The picturesque
Preston Nomads ground
4 | AOC | JUNE 2013
www.alloutcricket.com
www.alloutcricket.com | | AOC
AOC || 53
THE INCOMPARABLE GAME
With 652 runs at 81 by the end of May,
Sam Robson had underscored
Middlesex’s spirited tilt at the County
Championship title. The Australian-born
opener qualifies for England next year,
and having never played a first-class
match in his home country, the chances
appear stacked in England’s favour that,
if given the chance, he will look to
represent them in the future.
66| AOC
| AOC| |JUNE
JULY2013
2013
AOC | | 77
Out of luck: given lbw at the
wrong time…
He’s the cricketing
brainbox who writes about
sport, life and luck and also
takes the airwaves on
TMS. So then, do you feel
lucky, Ed Smith?
Fresh out of the TMS commentary box
during the first Test of the summer
at Lord’s, ex-Kent, Middlesex and
England batsman-turned author and
commentator Ed Smith met up with
AOC’s Ed Kemp for a chat and a beverage
in the media centre.
You’re pretty busy these days then, Ed!
Just written a book about luck… How
did your ideas for that come about?
It was over a long time. There’s a chapter
in What Sport Tells Us About Life called
‘Luck’ which, looking back on it, is very
incomplete. I think the professional
sportsman in me then, when I wrote that
book, held me back from being completely
honest about the subject; even though I
was already intellectually interested in it, I
don’t think I was able to go the whole way.
Do you think it’s dangerous for
professional sportsmen to embrace
the concept of luck, then? Or can it be
beneficial?
It’s a good question. I don’t think it does
any harm, because I’m not saying that
sportsmen and women are completely
helpless to control their own destiny,
as that would be ridiculous. I do think
understanding that your own selfbelief and ability co-exist within other
circumstances which are outside your
control is a good thing. I think it’s a
particularly good idea for captains and
managers. Maybe if you’re a star player
with a huge sense of his own destiny, then
you should stick with that! But I think
people who want to understand the game
analytically and make good decisions
should understand that luck in life gives
810
| AOC
| MAY
JUNE
2013
2013
| AOC
| JULY
2013
you a huge advantage. You can defi nitely
be too outcome driven. You can end up
saying, ‘We won/lost. I scored runs/didn’t.
Therefore, everything is great/bad’, but it’s
not like that.
That’s good for today’s young players
too, right? Appreciating that a few low
scores can be due to bad luck, rather than
because you’re doing everything wrong?
To understand that there is a natural
variation to form, yes. Sometimes that is
caused by technical faults and errors, but
sometimes it’s just what happens; you’ve
nicked a good one! There’ve been points in
all our careers where we’ve been in good
enough form to edge balls that we would
otherwise have missed.
You came into cricket with a naturally
active, analytical mind. Did that help
you? Or can it become a hindrance to a
professional sportsman? Do you risk
over-complicating?
That’s a very good question, and I genuinely
don’t know the answer. I didn’t fi nd it
easy to know what sort of a player I was in
that way, but you could make a case that
having a strong mind and an analytical
temperament made me develop skills
that helped me. You could also make the
case that, at certain points in my career,
I was too analytical and underplayed the
instinctive ball striking ability. Both are
true at different times. I certainly think I
changed during my career; I went to being
much more instinctive by the end and I
think I was a better player of the ball at the
end of my career than I ever was before, but
I’d also tailed off in terms of hunger. When
I was in my early 20s I was very driven and,
Two ‘Ed’s,
two brains –
both Smith’s
if anything, a bit too analytical. Later on, I
became a better player because I was more
relaxed and trusting myself, but I don’t
think I was quite as dialled in. I think, if I’m
really critical, early in my career I might
have over complicated it a bit, and later in
my career I was thinking about the rest of
my life. The winters became very fulfi lling
and I enjoyed my writing a lot.
How do you reflect on your career as a
cricketer, now?
The main thing I feel is a huge affection for
cricket in the sense that it gave me a huge
amount of experience and tested me. It gave
me a lot of experience psychologically and
also gave me an experience of a broad range
of people. Basically, I’m very glad I played
cricket. I also think the mistakes I made
then, I look at very differently now. When
you make them, you’re like, ‘Why did I do
that?!’ and then, 10 years on, any mistake
you’ve made that was an authentic one,
doesn’t look like a mistake because it was
part of your development as a person. Even
the things I did that weren’t necessarily in
my rational self-interest – just publishing
books raised inevitable questions like
‘How’s he got the time and why isn’t he
practicing?’ – I don’t regret them, as it
was authentically my personality. I don’t
think I’ve had a career; I’ve had a life, and
it’s been mine. It’s exciting; I’m now 35
and I love writing books and for papers
and magazines, I commentate and speak
a lot, and I enjoy them all. None of it’s been
planned, and one of the theories of Luck is:
don’t assume that planning is actually going
to be better than feeling your way towards
things. Sometimes we should tinker, rather
than strategise, and you need to try things
to see if they fit in; I’ve become very much
more that way; I’ve become a much less
controlling person than I used to be.
Is that Test debut fifty in 2003 the high
point?
I don’t know. It was great fun and I really
enjoyed my experiences with England, and
I was sad when it went away. I did enjoy
getting runs; I had these big high points
in my county career and some inevitable
corresponding low points, because if you
have big peaks, you tend to have big troughs.
But in those spells where everything was
going well and everything clicked, I think
I had a lot of fun, so even that volatility had
its benefits. The best I played was at the very
end of 2004. One of the things I did wrong
was I had a bad start to the year after I’d
been dropped and didn’t really make a case,
then I played really well and got about three
or four hundreds at the end of the season.
Did you find that being a bit different,
having perhaps more intellectual
interests outside of the game, ever
made things more difficult socially,
within cricket?
If you speak to people I played with,
particularly from the middle and end of my
career, when I was a bit more grown up and
I was thrown into a different world which was a
big jump for me; it took me a while to adapt
knew what I was about, I think I enjoyed all
kinds of people. If you look at the friends I
have in cricket, they’re all types – not just
people like me. Dressing rooms are varied
and interesting, not everyone is the same,
and I think, when I was younger and went
through the English education to graduate
early at 20, I’d been sharpening an approach
which is only really useful to passing exams
and writing essays. Then suddenly I was
thrown into a different world which I think
was a big jump for me; I think it took me a
while to adapt. People aren’t interested in
how you spend your spare time, and why
should they be? I was writing reviews of
history books in the Telegraph at 21, which
is a strange thing for anyone to be doing, let
alone a professional sportsman. I think in
those early years it was quite difficult.
And you left Kent with a bit of bad
feeling at the end of 2004. What
happened there?
I think the truth is that Kent was my home
county, and I watched Kent a lot as a boy
and loved Kent cricket. So, whenever
you leave a club like that, it’s always
complicated. But, again, looking back
on it now, if you take the whole body of
experience – the nine seasons I played at
Kent – generally, I enjoyed a lot of it. It was
a difficult last year, there were difficulties
with one person, who had a reading of On
and Off the Field [Smith’s diary of the 2003
season] that was different to maybe how I
felt it was. That was really it. It’s all been
slightly misrepresented over the years,
and I’ve got no real interest in going into
it because, generally, if I look at my Kent
experience as a whole, I loved it. Moving
to Middlesex was different, but being in
London was nice because that made my life
come together. It was a different challenge;
captaincy was very interesting and
challenging, playing at Lord’s was fantastic
and I made a whole bunch of new friends.
www.alloutcricket.com || AOC
AOC || 11
9
Everyone congratulated me, except
Cookie... so maybe that says something
FINNY’SDIARY
The way England captain Andrew Strauss was brought into
the headlines last year. He didn’t deserve that. He’s a top man
Matt Prior reckons he did well to beat Alastair
Cook to ECB Cricketer of the Year
Kevin Pietersen reveals his biggest regret
DIARY
Rogers: Captain Marvel
turned Ashes foe
Some bloke stood up and shouted, “Watford have equalised, Finny!” I
gave a big fist pump to the crowd and then the bloke went, “Only joking!”
The whole stand were pissing themselves
Whitewashing the Black Caps, fashion advice from Trotty and play-off heartbreak
for the Hornets. It’s another month in the life of our dressing room insider…
MAY 2
It was nice to get out at Lord’s for
Middlesex’s Championship match against
Surrey and reacquaint myself with the
pitch. I was pretty happy with how I bowled,
even though I only took one wicket. The
theory with changing to a short run was to
stop me knocking the stumps and get me
going straighter into the crease, which
would help me be more consistent. The
problem is when you don’t actually get a
period of rest from cricket you never really
get an opportunity to go away and work on
these things. I was hoping I’d get used to the
shorter run quicker but it didn’t happen so
I’ve gone back to my more comfortable
longer run. It feels more natural again. I’m
never going to be a bowler that sprints in
and explodes – I think I rely more on having
good rhythm, which the longer run up gives
me. My mind’s always open to suggestions
that could make me better, but at the
moment I’m sticking with the long run.
MAY 5
Chris Rogers played exceptionally well in
our second innings, following on, to score
214. I’ve played with him now for three
years and he has been awesome in all of
them. He’s one of those performers that
consistently scores runs when his team
needs them; he’s just a good, solid, all-round
10
16| |AOC
AOC| |JUNE
JULY2013
2013
bloke, similar to Justin Langer in that he’ll
guts it out for you but he’s able to be
expansive when he wants to be. He’s
defi nitely someone we’ll have to be wary of
come the Ashes. He’s asked me to bowl him
a few half volleys and I’ve told him I would if
he can let me get him out after! It’ll be good
fun to face up against a mate if we both
make the teams. I’ve spent a lot of time with
our other in-form opener Sam Robson since
he came over here four years ago from
Australia, and he’s class. He’s very levelheaded and knows how he wants to score
his runs, which you don’t see very often
with young batsmen. I’m sure he’ll keep
impressing and it’ll be an interesting
conundrum to see who he supports come
the Ashes. He’s very happy in England, and
hopefully he’ll stay here.
MAY 8
On to Edgbaston for a Championship match
and both Bell and Trott were playing for
Warwickshire. It’s always nice to see fellow
England players when you play county
cricket. I wanted to knock their poles over
just so I’d have bragging rights in the
dressing room but I bowled at both of them
and it was quite strange – if I hit them on
the hand and broke their fi nger, it would put
them out of a Test match. We had a few nice
meals in Birmingham, taking some of the
younger lads out a couple of times just to
show them the ropes – although we avoided
the Balti Triangle, you don’t want dodgy guts
for cricket! Hanging out with the younger
guys makes me think how naïve I was –
they’re so much more streetwise than I was
when I was their age. It’s impressive how they
go about their stuff.
U.G.G.L.Y: Finny
and Trotty ain’t
got no alibi…
MAY 19
We were toe-to-toe for the vast majority of
the first Test against New Zealand till Broady
and Jimmy blew their batting away. Up to
that point we had had three and threequarter Test matches neck and neck. Going
into that morning you could see in Broady’s
eyes that he was fired up after the way he
batted. He was on a mission to change the
game. He’s the type of player that aims to go
and take seven wickets every single day, but
it’s impossible to do that. The tone that those
two set was incredible and it was probably the
best display of fast bowling I’d ever seen live.
Everyone was over the moon to have won the
game but also for Broady to take seven
wickets for the second time in two years, at
Lord’s. For Jimmy to go past 300 Test wickets
was also a monumental achievement. After
the match we sat there and watched the final
day of the Premier League with a few beers,
really just enjoyed each other’s company and
savoured the moment.
MAY 23
Usually the guys will go home between
games and recharge their batteries but
there was very little turn-around after
Lord’s so we were straight up to Leeds and
straight into training. In our downtime I
went shopping in Leeds with Trotty and he
was trying to convince me that Ugg boots
were in fashion. It’s quite obvious that
Trotty is a man with limited dress sense –
the day I take advice from him is a very dark
day. We both tried them on though, and it’s
fair to say we looked as silly as each other.
MAY 25
I’m not sure what to say about Joe Root that
hasn’t already been said. To get his fi rst
Test hundred on his home ground, in front
of his friends and family and all the
esteemed Yorkshire legends who were their
watching him, must have felt very special.
The partnership that him and Jonny
Bairstow put on was exceptional. I think the
way he conducts himself sets him apart from
other people. He goes about his business,
scores his runs and just keeps his head down.
He’s obviously got the talent and skills – that
reverse sweep off Wagner down to third
man was something you won’t see very often
– but the composure to do that in
international cricket is amazing. He is a bit
cheeky in the dressing room. I think
Swanny’s taken him under his wing and he’s
starting to be a bit of a joker. I don’t know if
he’s going to be a new Swanny but he does
like a practical joke – you’ve got to keep your
eye on him. He’s avoided me so far, but if he
did try anything I’d bounce him in the nets…
MAY 26
New Zealand’s first innings is the best I’ve
bowled this season so far. It was nice to get
those three quick wickets to get our foot in
the door and it was great to be able to run up
and bowl with the confidence that the
outcome was going to be good all the time.
MAY 28
After wrapping up another satisfying win
we had a beer in the dressing room with the
New Zealand players. Obviously you’re
going hard at each other to get them out but
it’s nice to be able to relax and have a drink
with them. It’s good to get to know the
people you play against; I’ve played with a
few of the guys when I was down in New
Zealand playing for Otago and it was good
to catch up with them. Tim Southee and I
were talking about the fact that I bowled
him a couple of short balls – he wasn’t
happy about it, and was wondering what
had happened to the bowlers’ union!
Finny’s monthly musings are brought to you
in association with Travelbag – the travel
company who specialise in creating
tailor-made holidays to a range of worldwide
destinations.
MAY 27
I didn’t get to watch Watford in the play-off
final and, given the result, I’ve not even
watched the highlights. The Western
Terrace were singing at me that Crystal
Palace were 1-0 up and the fact that Watford
would be in the Championship for another
year. Then some bloke stood up and shouted,
“Watford have equalised, Finny!” I gave a big
fist pump to the crowd and then the bloke
went “Only joking!” Then the whole stand
were pissing themselves. That was quite a
dark moment…
Sting in the tail: Kevin
Phillips’ penalty sinks
the Hornets
AOC || 11
17
THEAOCTEN
FANTASY SLIP CORDON
PAUL STIRLING
THE MIDDLESEX
MASTERBLASTER SETS
OUT HIS DREAM
CATCHERS
Keeper
Charles Colvile
(standing up)
10
1st-5th slip
One Direction
THE
Gully
Joey Barton
2nd Gully
John Terry
2
9
Bowler
Dale Steyn
1
3
RUN OUT
99S
4
5
If getting run out is the worst feeling in
cricket, imagine the agony of getting
caught short on 99. Presenting 10 of the
most heartbreaking 99ers of the lot.
Look away now…
10
wOrds | JEFF THOMAs
10 | Jason Gallian 199 (twice)
2005 county season
Oscar Wilde once quipped: “To lose one
parent may be regarded as a misfortune;
to lose both looks like carelessness.” It’s
the kind of gallows humour that may have
helped Notts’ Jason Gallian reconcile the
calamity of being run out – incredibly
– for 199 not once but twice in the same
county season. A phlegmatic Gallian
ref lected: “I couldn’t believe it had
happened again… I was laughing. It was
just one of those situations, going for
some quick runs to try to make the most
of our total and win the game.”
9 | Graham Gooch 99
Australia v England, Third Test
MCG, 1980
England batting coach Graham Gooch is
well known for his insistence that ‘daddy
hundreds’ are what players should strive
for – in fact Alastair Cook once remarked:
“He doesn’t count it if it’s under 150.” But
Goochie didn’t always adhere to that
philosophy during his own playing career.
Such was his eagerness to reach his
maiden Test century, a full five years after
his debut, Gooch absurdly ran himself out
for 99 in the final over before tea on day
one at the MCG. Do as I say, not as I did?
12
24| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| JULY2013
2013
8 | Younis Khan 199
Pakistan v India, First Test
Lahore, 2006
The first Test between Pakistan
(679-7) and India (410-1) at Lahore in
2006 could lay claim to being the dullest
Test match of all-time. Of the 12
batsmen who had a knock in the match,
half made centuries. The monotony,
however, was brief ly broken on day two
when Younis Khan became the first
batsman in Test history to be run out for
199. Driving to mid on the unfortunate
Khan found his partner, a slumberous
Shahid Afridi – with his back turned on
the action and was undone by a direct
hit as he tried to scamper back. In the
context of the match, you can’t really
blame Afridi for snoozing.
7 | Don Bradman 299*
Australia v South Africa, Fourth Test
Adelaide, 1932
As ‘The Don’ approached his second
Test triple century he found himself
with only debutant No. 11 Hugh ‘Pud’
Thurlow for company. With Bradman
desperate to retain the strike, Thurlow
was run out for a duck, leaving Bradman
stranded on 299. While the senior man
graciously accepted responsibility at the
time (the not-out helped him average
201.50 in the series), conspiracy
theorists may note that Thurlow never
played another Test match…
6 | MS Dhoni 99
India v England, Fourth Test
Nagpur, 2012
Runs are something we’ve come to
expect from Alastair Cook; one-handed
swooping pick-ups and direct hits are
not. But that was exactly how the
England skipper dismissed his opposite
number late on day three during last
winter’s fourth Test in Nagpur. It was a
pivotal moment, stopping India in their
tracks and helped England secure an
unlikely first innings lead and
ultimately secure the series. The
unfortunate Dhoni became the first Test
captain ever to be run out for 99.
5 | Virat Kohli 99
IPL v Delhi Daredevils, Delhi 2013
Contrary to what Chris Gayle may have
led you to believe, scoring a century in a
Twenty20 match is a rare and amazing
achievement. In May this year, Virat
Kohli agonisingly missed out on the
milestone by a single run. Having
bludgeoned 22 runs from the first five
balls of the final over, Kohli required
two runs from the last ball of the
innings to bring up three figures.
Having smashed the ball out to deep
point he gave himself every chance, but a
fine pick-up and throw from Aussie Ben
Rohrer (no, us neither) saw him well
short of his ground, thus becoming the
first player in IPL history to be run out
for 99.
4 | Sanath Jayasuria 99
Sri Lanka v England, VB Series ODI
Adelaide, 2003
Nasser Hussain was involved in a fair
few farcical run outs during his career
but surely none were as comical as the
run out of Sanath Jayasuria at Adelaide
in 2003. Chasing England’s 279-6, the
Sri Lankan left-hander had advanced to
99 in just the 28th over when disaster
struck. Having driven to Hussain at mid
off for a comfortable single, Jayasuria
and partner Kumar Sangakkara gravely
took the same route down the pitch,
running wider and wider and wider still,
magnetically pulled into a collision at
short mid-wicket. Despite completing
about 24 yards with the angle, the
opener was still about three yards short
when Nasser’s throw hit the stumps.
3 | Hanif Mohammad 499
Karachi v Bahawalpur, Quaid-e-Azam
trophy semi-final
Karachi, 1959
On January 11, 1959, the original ‘Little
Master’ Hanif Mohammad was run out
just one shy of 500. Epic fail. Wanting to
give his captain the option of declaring
overnight, Mohammad fatally ran on a
mis-field on the penultimate ball of the
day and missed out on the chance of
becoming the first man ever to rack up a
quintuple century. “I thought I was gone
for 497, but as I walked back the
scoreboard showed 499! I would never
have pushed so hard if I knew I was on 498
and not 496.” He quickly got over it,
though. “499 is better than most scores.”
In fact, it remains better than all scores in
the history of first-class cricket, bar
Lara’s 501* from 1994.
2 | Steve Waugh 99*
Australia v England, Fifth Test
Perth, 1995
It’s said batsmen who spend long periods
together can develop a telepathic
understanding. Add into the mix the
supposed extrasensory abilities of twins,
then surely the Waugh brothers would be
the perfect partners when it came to
judging a quick single, right? Wrong. At
Perth in 1995, Steve Waugh was left
stranded on 99* when brother Mark
(acting as a runner for last man Craig
McDermott) inexplicably charged down
the wicket despite Steve hitting the ball
straight back to the bowler, and was run
out at the non-striker’s end. No doubt a
rather tense evening at the Waugh
residence ensued that night…
1 | Michael Atherton 99
England v Australia, Second Test
Lord’s, 1993
“Oh tragedy, tragedy!” Not the words of
Barry Gibb or ‘H’ from Steps, but those of
the Beeb’s Tony Lewis as Michael
Atherton desperately crawled along the
turf four yards short of his ground. While
the famous slope has undone many a
batsmen over the years, the imaginary
banana skin has claimed significantly
less victims, but here, as Merv Hughes’
throw arrived from deep mid wicket,
young Athers, having been sent back by
Mike Gatting, went a-sprawlin’. He
missed out on a place on the honours
board by a single run, and unlike Jacob
Oram, Tamim Iqbal and Matt Horne,
never made a Test hundred at Lord’s.
Horrifying.
AOC || 13
25
COLUMNIST
COLUMNIST
COLUMNIST
NANNES
DIRK ‘THE DIGGLER’
The Skipper
The Skipper
STEPHEN
STEPHEN
PETERS
After a dream start to the season for
the Northants captain, reality
suddenly strikes in the indoor nets.
there Are AlWAys DoDGy times AroUnD
the corner in cricket. I signed off last
month’s column with a warning to myself to
remember how quickly the good times can
turn bad. We’d had a great start, but this
game can bite you any time.
First week in May we had a Championship
match down at Canterbury against Kent.
They’re a tough team to play against, and the
first two days were pretty even. We did
brilliantly to bowl them out for 271, and with
the next day overcast we did superbly again
to get up to 303, thanks to a lot of wagging
from the tail. On a personal note, I was
delighted with my hundred. Before the
match I’d said to the lads that one of the top
six needed to put their hand up and get a big
score, and luckily for me I got it. I’ve always
been passionate about being the first one of
the top six to score a ton in the season – it’s
just a silly little thing I have.
On the morning of day three we had a chat
and said that if we had them all out for 280 we
could chase 260 on the final day. But in the
event the morning session was sensational.
When we broke for lunch we were into the
tail. That session ripped the heart out of the
game and we made short work of the 100-odd
we had to chase for the victory.
Our Aussie quick Trent Copeland got a
five-fer in both innings, and was sensational.
The first few games he’d almost been too good
– beating the bat three or four times an over.
The pitch at Canterbury is a really good
cricket wicket; and Trent bowled beautifully,
just doing enough to find the edge. That made
it three wins from four. Dreamland.
On the back of a victory like that one, the
team rhythm just flows. Nobody worries
about workloads or if they are doing enough
training. When you’re playing good cricket,
everyone wants to hit a few extra balls. We’ve
tried really hard to work on developing a team
spirit this year. Every night after the third
day’s play we go for a drink as a team. It
doesn’t have to be a beer, it can be a coke or a
juice, but good or bad we’re all there
supporting each other as a team. I guess it’s
14
36| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| JULY2013
2013
PETERS
A tumultuous, scandal-laden IPL
season has just come to a close, and
Dirk was right in the middle of it.
Pedro in full flow
against Glamorgan
[right] before the
horrorshow break
[above]
Every night after the third day’s play we go for a drink as a team.
I guess it’s the old-school in me, a group of lads chatting about
cricket in the bar. It doesn’t happen enough these days
the old-school in me, a group of lads chatting
about cricket in the bar. It doesn’t happen
enough these days.
A week after the Kent game, we had
Leicestershire at our place. It was the first
morning of the match. It was raining, so I went
in to have an indoor net – just a few balls.
Straight away I caught a delivery from the
‘side-arm’ throwing tool on the end of the
fourth finger on my right hand. I just knew
straight away. It was not only dislocated but the
bone had split in two. At first I couldn’t believe
it. Everything had been going so well, not just
for me, but for the whole team.
As you get a bit older, and you don’t know how
much longer you’ll be able to play for, you don’t
want to start missing games. But I’ve got to be
philosophical. I don’t have any other choice. As
an opening batsman, busted digits are an
occupational hazard – if I pull a muscle or hurt
my back, as I did last year, I always wonder if I
could have done a bit more strength and
conditioning work, or if I could have moved
slightly differently in the crease. But broken
fingers and similar injuries, what we call
impact injuries, are just plain bad luck.
The doctors had to relocate it, check that
there was no damage to my tendons and pin
the bones in place. I’ve now got a pin and two
screws running through the first two joints of
my finger, and I’ll be out for a good six weeks. I
suppose if you’re going do it, you may as well do
it properly…
Still, it wasn’t all bad. For my Northants gala
dinner for my Benefit year, Swanny came along
as a guest speaker. We ended up on the
dancefloor performing a rendition of Crazy For
You by Let Loose, which we’d sung on a bus trip
for England under 14s some 20 years ago. We
knew every word, and you can find the link on
YouTube. At the last count it’d had over 800
hits! You’ll find me using my tie as a
microphone. Very classy…
It’s The Cockney Brearley’s Benefit year; find
out more at @pedrobenefit. Steve will be writing
a column for AOC throughout the summer.
I was In my hotel room when news of
the Rajasthan scandal broke. Calls
quickly went from room to room telling
other players to turn the TV on. While
Indian news channels can be overly
dramatic, the police involvement and
press conferences made it appear that this
time the reports had more substance.
My team Chennai Super Kings had just
returned from playing Rajasthan a few
days earlier. Before our game, Sreesanth
had already been asked to leave the
Rajasthan team, having fallen out of
favour with his team management and
coaching staff. But his co-accused
Chandila and Chavan were still involved
and playing.
We stared at the TV screens, shook our
heads in amazement at how they had
operated, and wondered how people in
such a privileged position could allegedly
get involved so deeply.
Earlier in February, I was sitting in a
hotel in Dhaka over breakfast with an ICC
Anti-Corruption Unit member. As
someone completely naive on fixing and
the illegal gambling industry, he
recommended that I read Bookie, Gambler
Fixer, Spy by Ed Hawkins – a book that
talks about the workings of the illegal
gambling industry in India. While he
contended that a lot of the information in
the book he thought to be inaccurate, it
would at least give me a broad
understanding of how the industry worked. When the Rajasthan scandal broke, a lot
of the international players and coaches
were in the middle of reading the book
based on my recommendation. Fresh in
our minds and a very topical read, it felt
like we were somehow in the middle of it
all. (It’s important to note that there is a
fair bit in the book that we as a group
thought was incorrect and cannot be
relied upon as fact.)
In these early stages of the scandal,
more names started getting thrown
around by the Indian press, with little
regard for fact or reason. Unless you see
the Indian media in action first hand, you
38 | AOC | JULY 2013
AD
There were – and still are
– allegations of further
player involvement.
Who knows where it
will end?
would not believe how sensationalist it
can be. It seemed like they were just
throwing mud at everyone, hoping
something would stick so that they had
the ‘scoop’ before any other news channel.
There were – and still are – allegations
of further player involvement. Who knows
where it will end?
To my shock, later the next day one of my
best mates was being implicated by the
press – to my overwhelming relief, eight
hours later the allegation was
categorically dismissed by the Delhi
Police Chief. However, those eight hours
were some of the darkest of my career. I
Aftdoubting
er a dream
startmy
to judgment
the season
started
myself,
of for
the Northants
captain,
reality
character,
my teammates,
friends,
and
strikes
in thecricket.
indoor nets.
what suddenly
I was even doing
playing
My thoughts went something like this:
here Are
AlWAys
DoDGy
times
‘He istprobably
the
cleanest
I know.
IfAroUnD
he is
the then
corner
cricket.
I signed off
last
corrupt,
it in
could
be everyone.
We
talk
month’s
with
a warning
to myself to
cricket
all thecolumn
time. He
generally
knows
remember
how quickly
good times
whether
I am playing
or notthe
in advance
of can
turn
We’d
had
a greatand
start,
butwe
this
a game.
Webad.
talk
team
tactics
what
game
bite youdo
any
should
andcan
shouldn’t
ontime.
the field. Was
in May we had a Championship
he usingFirst
thatweek
information?’
match
down
against
I then
moved
onat
toCanterbury
myself. Maybe
I Kent.
a tough team
to play
against,
mightThey’re
be implicated?
I bowl
wides
all theand the
days were pretty
Wefor
did
time. fiI rst
amtwo
inconsistent;
in facteven.
I went
brilliantly
to bowl
out for3-17
271, and with
10 runs
off my first
ballthem
last game;
the next
day
overcast
we did
superbly
one game,
0-50
the
next. Does
that
mean again
I
to get
303, thanks to a lot of wagging
am next
in up
thetospotlight?
from
the tail.
a personal
note, I was
Once
reason
tookOn
over,
I started
delighted
with my
hundred.about
Beforethe
the
thinking
a bit more
objectively
I’d saidastoathe
lads that one of the top
pressmatch
and cricket
whole.
sixthis
needed
to put
their
hand
upmean
and get a big
Does
scandal
and
bad
press
score, and
luckily Far
for me
I got
I’ve always
that cricket
is rotten?
from
it.it.There
been
being the in
first
one of
are far
toopassionate
many goodabout
men involved
the
score
a ton
the season
gamethe
we top
lovesix
toto
send
it to
itsin
grave.
The – it’s
just a silly majority
little thing
have. are fair,
overwhelming
ofIplayers
On the
morning
ofWe
day are
three
honest and
good
people.
allwe had a chat
and said
that if weangry,
had them
out for 280 we
saddened,
frustrated,
andallbetrayed
chase
the
day.or
But in the
by thecould
actions
of 260
any on
and
allfinal
fixers
event
the morning
session
was
corrupt
players.
Whenever
mud
is sensational.
thrown
When
we broke
for lunch
into the
at us as
a playing
group,
somewe
of were
it may
tail. That
session
thethat
heartwe
out
of the
sometimes
stick.
Doesripped
it mean
are
and
we made short
all to game
blame?
Absolutely
not. work of the 100-odd
wehappily
had to chase
the victory.
I can
sleepfor
at night
knowing that
Our Aussie
quick
Trenttake
Copeland
I have never,
and will
never,
any got a
five-fer
both
innings, and
sensational.
money
to ‘fix’inor
manipulate
anywas
game.
I
The fibe
rstlured
few games
almost beenthe
too good
will never
by thehe’d
‘honey-trap’,
– beating
the bat
three or
fourwrong,
times an
late-night
boozing
session
gone
orover.
The of
pitch
at Canterbury
is a really
the thrill
earning
quick money.
I’vegood
got
cricket
wicket;
and Trent
bowledand
beautifully,
a terrific
family,
a good
upbringing
just doing enough
to filot
ndin
thelife.
edge.
That made
am comfortable
with my
I’m
it three
four. Dreamland.
positive
thatwins
mostfrom
cricketers
are the same.
On the
backtake
of a victory
that one, the
However,
if you
a broadlike
crossteam
rhythm
just flyou
ows.will
Nobody
worries
section
of any
society,
always
find
workloads
or ifathey
arebuck,
doing enough
thoseabout
who want
to make
quick
When
goodand
cricket,
thosetraining.
who make
the you’re
wrongplaying
decisions,
to hit ainfew
balls. We’ve
thoseeveryone
who havewants
skeletons
theextra
closet
triedwant
reallytohard
to It
work
on developing
that they
hide.
is these
people a team
spirit this
Every night
who tarnish
theyear.
otherwise
goodafter the third
day’s play
wevastly
go for ahonest
drink as
a team. It
intentions
of the
playing
be a beer,
can be a coke or a
group.doesn’t
All thehave
badtopress
fromitscandals
juice,
goodand
or bad
such as
thisbut
hurts,
wewe’re
wantallitthere
to be
supporting
other
as a team.
I guess it’s
stopped
as mucheach
as the
watching
public. | AOC | 15
36 | AOC | JULYwww.alloutcricket.com
2013
the
abo
eno
A
Leic
mor
in to
Stra
‘side
four
stra
bon
it. E
for m
A
muc
wan
phil
an o
occu
my b
cou
con
slig
NORTHERN
SOUL
At just 22 and having already become the first Yorkshireman in history to make his maiden
Test hundred at Headingley, Joe Root’s prime place in English cricket’s future seems
assured. But what lies behind the cherubic darling of the development programme? Is he
too good to be true? And can he crack a joke? Ed Kemp heads to Yorkshire to investigate.
Photos Joe Provis
W
hen a kid who’s been
talked up comes into
the England side there
are usually questions.
Where’s he from? Who
does he play like? What’s his weakness?
Studious faces examine him, and the
game’s most well-respected brows furrow
in search of clues. Evidence is compiled,
positions arrived at, then debated. He
may or may not make it. But, occasionally
– very occasionally – there seem to be no
questions to ask. Sometimes there arrives
a player so immediately and accomplished
that he provides only answers.
AOC fi rst saw Joe Root in August 2011. It
was at Scarborough, the lovely old ground
at North Marine Road on Yorkshire’s east
coast, where he was making his debut
for England Lions in a four-day match
against Sri Lanka A. On the third day, in
the Lions’ second innings, their slender
opening batsman made 66, decorated
with Atherton-like back foot punches and
Vaughan-esque cover drives. Somehow he
had only made his Championship debut
earlier that year. I was interviewing the
standout Lions man from each day – and
today it would be this opener. When I went
down to the old red brick pavilion and
16
2013
40| AOC
| AOC| MAY
| july
2013
met him face to face, the reason for his
inexperience became immediately obvious.
He was only nine years old.
It was hard to believe the child standing
in front of me was the same person whose
crisp strokeplay and eye for a leave had so
captivated just a couple of hours earlier.
He was only averaging 30-odd in the
Championship that year – but as the Lions
coach David Parsons told me at the time: “If
we picked purely on statistics he probably
wouldn’t be here. But somebody somewhere
– the selectors, the national lead batting
coach [at that time, Graham Thorpe] – has
seen something else in him.”
Since then things have moved on apace.
At the end of only his second season in fi rstclass cricket last year, Root was selected
to join England’s tour party to India,
ostensibly to compete with Nick Compton
for the opening slot. Though Compton was
preferred, Root so impressed behind the
scenes that he leap-frogged both Jonny
Bairstow and Eoin Morgan for the No.6
spot when Samit Patel was omitted for the
fourth Test, making 73 assured runs under
pressure in the fi rst innings, followed by
20 not out in the second, to help England
secure a series win on debut. He was in, just
like that.
AOC || 41
17
“
I was so proud to be
wearing the England
badge and to be
representing my country
– and I didn’t want to ruin
that by being nervous
I
’ve never been in here before, it’s good
in’t it?’ Joe Root is visiting the Yorkshire
cricket museum at Headingley for
the fi rst time. It’s late April, he’s playing a
practice match against Lancashire and, now
that he’s out, we’ve brought him in here for
a chat and a few photographs. All over the
walls there are the names and portraits of
Yorkshire’s illustrious sons, Hutton, Close,
Boycott, Vaughan. As we set up, Root reads
the histories, plays the interactive games;
wonders, perhaps, if he’ll be up on that wall
himself one day. To casual observers Root
seems every inch one of those rare chosen
ones, acting out a destiny: part of a lineage
not only of Yorkshire greats but of ‘future
England captains’. Yes, on the surface, he
is an archetype; but spend a bit of time with
him and you get to know an individual: levelheaded, but bright and sparky, too: a talented
boy with a bounce in his walk and a twinkle
in his eye.
Have you ever been intimidated going into
new team environments?
In general, no, but there’s two real occasions
that stick out. The fi rst is when I played my
fi rst men’s game. I’ve only got tall recently
– at that time I was literally half the size of
some of the blokes. I remember getting hit
in the ribs when I was on about eight or nine
in my fi rst game, and everyone rushed over,
quite concerned. The umpire said to me
afterwards, ‘If anyone had appealed I would
have had to give you out LB!’ I ended that
innings about nine not out off about 15 overs. I
was already digging in – Yorkshire style. The
second one was here [Headingley, 2009] when
I made my Yorkshire debut against Essex in
a one-day game. I was really quite petrified
then. Once I got out there on the pitch it sort of
settled down and it was great, but I was very,
very nervous. Those are the only times I’ve
really felt that nervous and intimidated by
the atmosphere.
I want to talk about being young
and brilliant. It might be a one-sided
conversation. You’ve always been
promoted through teams very quickly –
fast-tracked through the system – but you
seem always to thrive. Has it ever been
a problem, being and looking so young?
And how did joining the full England setup compare?
Well, India was a good place to start, because
you have to spend a lot of time with each other
and you end up getting to know each other
pretty well. I got to know a lot of the lads and
I felt comfortable really quickly. It was a bit
surreal to start with: one minute you’re
watching these boys on the telly, and all of a
sudden I’m in the dressing room and going
out for dinner with them.
But you missed out on selection initially.
When you made the squad you must
have thought you had a shout of playing…
Yeah, I knew I had a shout, but in the end we
both played in the warm-up games and Nick
got more runs than me. And he’d had a great
year the year before. When I wasn’t in the
team, I remember thinking, ‘Right, really
work hard, and just try and be a better player
by the end of the tour.’ They were my goals, and
I ended up getting a game and going alright.
What was it like waiting to bat that first
morning of your first Test? Was it very
different from any experience up to that
point?
Not really, the only thing different was I was
batting at six, and I’ve not really done that
before. So it was more just sitting around,
what do I do? I started playing with my bats
for a bit, and messing around with my kit
and having a laugh and a joke with the lads,
and then you think, ‘Right, when do I have
to pad up?’ I was like: [thinking] Four down,
I’m going to be in, so I’d better make sure I
get my kit on when we’re two down’ and stuff
like that. You’re waiting, a wicket goes down
and you walk out there. You know, I was so
proud to be wearing the England badge and
to be representing my country – and I didn’t
want to ruin that by being nervous; I didn’t
want to come off thinking, ‘Oh, I wish I
wasn’t so petrified’. I just wanted to enjoy it,
and make the most of it, and I tried to do that
as much as I could. Everyone gets nervous I
think, it’s just how you control it, and after
that county debut here [Headingley], I never
wanted to feel like that when I was playing
cricket again. That’s how I went out in that
fi rst Test and it seemed to come off okay.
I
t wasn’t just Joe enjoying his sudden
rise to prominence in the winter.
For the Roots, cricket is very much a
family affair. As his debut knock – a thing
of discipline and calm ground out over 229
balls – unfolded, his proud parents and
grandparents were watching an investment
mature; his dad Matt tweeting pictures of
his boy as a youngster, in the house and in
the garden, bat in hand. His younger brother
Billy was also there. Billy, a 20-year-old
left-handed top-order batsman, is on the
MCC Young Cricketers programme, on the
fringes of county cricket himself. While
following the cricket in India, Billy actually
bumped into AOC editor Phil Walker, and
judging by his high-spirited praise-singing
of Joe – whom it seems he thought should be
18
42| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| july2013
2013
in the England team – he’s a fi rm supporter
of his big brother (“That sounds about
right,” says Joe. “He’d never been to India
before and I think he discovered Kingfi sher
for the fi rst time.”) Are they similar? “I
think we’re pretty different to be honest.
Especially in styles of batting: he plays a lot
of shots and is very fl amboyant, and I’m kind
of boring and stodgy.” In the fi rst Test of the
summer against New Zealand at Lord’s –
where Joe made an accomplished 71 in the
second innings – his “best mate” Billy was
alongside big brother Joe in the dressing
room as 12th man.
Roots: Joe and
Billy started
young
The Root boys have been bred for success.
Theirs was a classic cricketing childhood –
dad Matt was heavily involved at Sheffield
Collegiate CC, the club from where Michael
Vaughan – as well as other notables – had
sprung, and it was there, really, that Joe
grew up. Matt had been a more than handy
sportsman himself, and Joe and Billy used
to follow him to all his games, constantly
playing on the boundary, “getting told off
for whacking it on the field and fetching it
off in the middle of an over. We would be
badgering all the guys that had got out or
were batting at 10 and 11 to come and throw
at us and bowl at us in the nets. It was a good
atmosphere and a good place. I remember
just loving going to watch my dad.”
And the older brother’s thirst for batting
was unquenchable even then. Driven on by
his family’s tireless support, he made his
fi rst hundred at 11 (“It was a school game
and the smallest boundaries ever, you could
block it for four – it was perfect for me”)
and now, reflecting on the England debut,
Root says, “It was really pleasing to see
how happy they [the family] were as well.
All the hard work that they’ve done, giving
me lifts to training sessions up and down
the country and taking me to games and
throwing balls, and all those things, it’s
great to give a little bit back to them.”
Most things have gone smoothly in Root’s
young career. But the one time things really
started to go wrong, when he was a late
teen, it was Kevin Sharp, then the county
“ I RECKON
HE’LL END UP
WITH MY
MISSUS!”
MICHAEL VAUGHAN ON THE KID
HE TIPPED FOR SUCCESS…
I’ve seen a lot of him. I know him, I know his
dad, I played with his dad, I know his little
brother. I know his mum, he lives in the village
that I used to live in. He’s come through the
system that I came through, played all the same
teams: Yorkshire Boys, Collegiate, Yorkshire
2nds, Yorkshire 1sts, England A – captained
England A, I did that. Started in the middle of
the innings for England, I did that. Used the
same bat, same boots. I reckon he’ll end up
with my missus! He’s basically done exactly the
same, he’s a wonderful kid.
They used to take the mick out of me at the
club because his little brother Billy – who’s
very talented and could still have a career in
the game – was left-handed, had all the shots,
could reverse sweep, even back in the day. And
bowled leg spin. And Joe was this quiet kid, just
went about his business. Everyone was saying
how talented Billy is and he’s going to play for
England – and I went, ‘He’s the one, Joe will
play for England’. And none of them believed
me because he was this little scrawny kid who
couldn’t hit it off the square.
But he’s got the talent and the temperament,
which is the most important thing. And that’s why
he’ll have a lot of longevity in the game because
he deals with things right, he’s got a nice manner
about him, a great work ethic, he’s a cricket
badger – talks about it all the time, loves it.
Similar to Alastair Cook, that’s what he was like.
He’ll be doing well to match what Cookie’s done
but you can see him having a long time within the
England dressing room.
academy coach, who helped restore the
order. Funnily enough, it was all the result
of the under-sized kid cricketer starting
to become a man. “The fi rst year I signed
on staff, I kept falling over, and getting
out LB. I must have got out LB about 20
times in a row, in all cricket: in academy
games, 2nd team games, club games, and I
just didn’t know where I was going to ever
score my next run.
“I’d just signed on the pro staff, and I’d
only signed two years and I was thinking,
‘Well that’s it, that’ll be it’. Kevin just
laughed at me as I was telling him all this,
and he said, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be a better
player for it’ and he just kept encouraging
me, working hard with me, and we worked
out that I’d grown six inches in about a
year – and my balance was all off because
of that, really. We spent hours and hours
working on different things, and trying
different things and eventually it just
clicked and before I knew it, by the end
of the season I was back to normal, and I
could go from there. It was difficult, but
there were enough good people around me
that helped me through. And I think that
was very important to have.”
B
lond-haired and smooth-skinned;
the quieter, cool-headed older
brother who plays with a straight
bat and doesn’t answer back: you might be
forgiven for suspecting Root of being – for
all his merits – a touch on the dull side. As a
youngster, his size did make him one of the
shier lads. “I was pretty much a goody-two
shoes at school – a bit boring, didn’t get in
trouble with teachers – it was classical
Yorkshire: a lot of respect to your elders.
Once I started playing cricket that sort of
slipped away.” There’s the cheeky grin. “I’ve
“
sort of come out of my shell since school
and started to actually enjoy myself.”
We’ve been told by a few people that
you’re a bit of a practical joker. Is that
right?
Sometimes… [Massive grin] Like I say,
you’ve got to enjoy your cricket – on and
off the field! I think I can be quite cheeky
at times… I like to keep people on their
toes… as I’ve been on the wrong end of a
few things growing up, it’s nice to give a bit
back to the rest of the lads!
What sort of stunts do you pull?
I don’t want to give any secrets away, I’ll
just keep that in the dressing room. But
I’m sure you’ve played cricket before so you
can imagine some of the stuff that goes on.
Well, I hope it’s not as disgusting as
some of the things AOC has seen…
Ha! No, it probably isn’t as disgusting as
some of the stuff you do, I’m more cheeky
than disgusting.
Let’s leave that one… What are your
non-sporting interests?
Golf.
Er…
Oh, non-sporting? I thought you were
going to say non-cricketing! This is quite
embarrassing but this winter I’ve started
trying to learn the ukulele. And I’m still
horrendous at it, but it’s a good one for
taking away on tours and stuff, so this
winter I locked myself away in my room for
a couple of hours and tried to blast out a few
songs – it went horrendously but I’m going
to stick with it, and hopefully, in a few
years’ time I might be able to play a few.
JOE
-KING
What’s your favourite joke?
That’s a good question. I’ve got one,
it’s quite long though.
Well, if you’ve got it in you, lad…
I’ve got it in me…
20
44| |AOC
AOC| |JUNE
july2013
2013
Great choice! How did that come about?
We were in a shopping mall in New Zealand
and I was with Jonny [Bairstow] and one of
the other lads, and I said – because I tried to
learn to play guitar as a lad and never really
stuck to it – ‘Oh, I reckon that’d be easier to
learn’, because there’s only four strings. It’s
small enough to put in my hand luggage on
the plane so I thought, ‘Yeah, that’ll do’. It
was about 30 quid or something, and yeah,
I’m still plugging away, still trying. I just go
onto YouTube and type in whatever song I
want to learn and then try and crack on. It’s
hard work!
So you’ll be at the heart of the team
songs on the next tour, then?
Er, I’m not sure about that… there’s a lot
of practice to be done fi rst, but you never
know, why not? I’ve just got to get in the
nets and drill it…
Nice. What about books?
I’m not a massive reader, to be honest… I
try and fi ll my time with other things. But I
remember getting halfway through a book
once. It was The Client by John Grisham,
which was quite interesting.
Not interesting enough to finish it
though! Are there many readers in the
England squad?
Well, you’d be surprised at this because
he’s quite thick, but Brezzy [Tim Bresnan]
likes to read books now and again…
That is surprising… Swanny gives Bres
quite a bit of stick about being thick…
Yeah, well Swanny’s not the only one to be
fair – there are quite a few lads that give
Brezzy a hard time! I’d like to say he plays
up to it… I think he’d prefer it if I said it that
There’s a bloke who’s adamant that his wife’s cheating on him. He’s convinced. One day he gets to his
flat, which is about 10 stories high, and the door’s locked. He starts banging on the door, but there’s
no answer for about five minutes and eventually his wife comes to the door. When she opens it she’s
just wearing a man’s shirt – and the bloke’s like, ‘Where is he? Where is he?’ He looks everywhere:
under the bed, in the cupboards – everything. Eventually he hears this guy screaming ‘Help’ from the
bedroom, so he walks into the bedroom and he sees these hands clinging on to the windowsill. He’s
furious – he kicks the bloke’s hands off – who falls about 10 stories and lands on the top of a car. And
he’s still mad with rage, so he goes into the kitchen – and he’s got one of those massive American
fridges, and he pushes it out the window on top of the bloke.
Anyway, later that day, a doctor at the hospital sees two blokes in two beds, both in full plaster
casts with their legs and arms in the air. And the doctor says to the first bloke, ‘What happened
mate?’ He says, ‘Well, I was cleaning these windows… and lost me ladder, and I eventually got
someone’s attention, but when he came he just knocked me off the windowsill. I fell off and got hit
by this fridge.’ So the doctor says, ‘Oh dear, that’s bad luck.’ And he says to the next bloke, ‘What
happened to you then?’ He goes, ‘Well, I was in this fridge…’
n
a
m
h
c
t
Nightw a
THE
A R T E R LY
C R IC K E T Q U
N
E
D
IS
W
E
H
T
The Nightwatchman, the Wisden
Cricket Quarterly, is a new publication
showcasing the very best writing about
cricket from around the world. It gathers
together leading cricket journalists
and well-known writers from other
disciplines – mathematics, poetry, history
and literature to name but a few – to
offer long-form, original pieces about all
aspects of cricket.
AD
The Nightwatchman will provide
writers with the rare opportunity of
choosing their subject and their style, and
writing to a length they feel appropriate,
away from the usual constraints of other
formats. Produced in association with
Wisden as the Almanack celebrates its
150th edition, The Nightwatchman is
aiming to ensure that the great tradition
of quality cricket writing will be continued.
Go to www.thenightwatchman.net to find
out how to get The Nightwatchman in
print and e-book formats.
JAMES HOLLAND
THE NIGHTWATCHMAN
VERITY’S WAR
James Holland sets off for Sicily, where he pieces together the last days of one of
Yorkshire and England’s greatest spin bowlers
The Plain of Catania in Sicily, and a
pilgrimage of sorts. It is one of the most
fertile parts of the island, largely flat and
low-lying, bisected by rivers and dominated
by the towering presence of Mount Etna.
Hedley Verity would have seen Etna
from the moment he landed at first light
on Saturday, 10 July 1943, as part of the
biggest seaborne invasion the world has
ever known. There’s always a halo of cloud
surrounding the summit; there would have
been when Verity was here and there is
when I visit the place nearly 70 years on.
Cloud, or is it smoke? I am not sure but it
hangs there, a contrast to the deep and
cloudless blue of the sky.
Working out precisely where the 1st
Battalion, the Green Howards made their
attack on the night of 21 July, 11 days
after landing, takes a while. I am armed
with a copy of an original hand-drawn
map, found in the battalion war diary,
but one that is remarkably accurate. At
any rate, I have managed to marry it up
easily enough with an image from Google
Maps: the tracks running down from the
railway line, the curving dykes that were
such a feature of this part of the plain, and
even the buildings that had once been
battalion headquarters.
Getting there, however, is another matter.
New roads run to the south and north of
the site, there is now a large factory to the
east of the map, roughly where D Company
began their attack. It is difficult getting off
the main road and down to the rough lane
that leads under the railway embankment,
but eventually we manage it, and suddenly
we are driving down the very same track
marked on the hand-drawn map back in
July 1943.
And there are the remains of an old barn or
farmhouse, also shown on the map. The roof
has gone and inside it is wild and overgrown,
but we are now at the point where Captain
Verity led his B Company into battle. The
start line, to use the parlance of the day.
We park up and walk along another rough
track, also marked on the map, climb a dyke
THENIGHTWATCHMAN.NET
54
www.thenightwatchman.net
way… But he defi nitely has his moments
where he’s just genuinely, quite…
F
irmly settled in with his teammates
already, Root continued to catch
the eye of the cricket world with his
start in international cricket. After the
Test series in India he slotted straight into
the ODI team, moving to bat in the pivotal
No.4 position and making runs in every
knock, while also chipping in with useful
off breaks. His one-day form continued
on the New Zealand tour, where he helped
England to a series win including 79*
from 56 balls in Napier. His runs weren’t
“stodgy”, but brisk and good to watch:
marked by ramp shots over fi ne leg,
reverse sweeps for four and hits over the
mid-wicket boundary. He’s adaptable.
Then of course, there was Headingley.
Where else? In a golden run of form, the
local lad made his maiden ton in front of
his faithful in the second Test against New
Zealand in Leeds. It almost seemed preordained. He’s been through every stage
of the ECB’s development programme,
played for the age-group teams, and at
each juncture he’s done all that was asked
of him, met every challenge, continued to
get better. According to Root himself his
winter with Graham Thorpe in 2011/12,
when the Lions trained in India before
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, taught him
“how to play spin” and prepared him for
that debut knock in Nagpur.
The blindingly obvious comparison,
then, is with Alastair Cook, who came
into the side with “a good head on him”
and never left: now England captain after
years of grooming as the next-in-line. Root
seems already to have assumed the same
position: in the Lions’ warm-up match
against New Zealand this summer, he was
selected as skipper to give him, according
to national selector Geoff Miller, “valuable
SILLY SEASON!
ROOT’S RUN-FILLED START TO
THE SUMMER
April 24-27, Durham v Yorkshire
Chester-le-Street, County Championship
1st innings
2nd innings
Runs
49
182
Balls
81
283
4s
9
22
Bats Yorkshire to a remarkable victory that
sees them chase down 336 on the last day.
Root plays through the innings before being
dismissed with only one run required.
22
46| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| july2013
2013
experience of captaincy”. His previous
includes captaining Yorkshire up to under
14s, and later skippering at Collegiate for a
season in between Yorkshire 2nds games –
where he’s also been captain on occasion.
Watching him lead the Lions at
Leicester in May – seeing him standing
at second slip, running up to the bowler
between overs, handing the umpire the
cap and sweater, a quick field adjustment –
you could see it was just another challenge
he was enjoying, and one that quietly, he
fancied his chances of rising to. While it
would be getting wildly ahead of himself
to think about captaincy at this stage (“It’s
one of those things that it’ll happen if it
happens”) the idea doesn’t phase him.
One of many men convinced of the
soundness of Root’s character, who’s
watched his growing confidence, is former
Yorkshire skipper Anthony McGrath,
who was captain that “petrified” day at
Headingley when the boy made his debut.
“He’s not only – obviously – very talented,
but for a young guy he understands the
game, understands his own game. He’s got
a very good cricket brain and he’s just a
good, solid man.
“Once Joe got in and put in a couple of
good performances his character shone
through. He’s a really likeable lad, he’s
got a good sense of humour and as he’s
become a little bit more confident on
the pitch we’ve seen the repercussions
of that off the pitch as well. He wants to
learn, he’s a studier of the game – he’ll
watch videos of himself or other players,
he’ll be sat watching in training and pick
up bits off other people; he’s very clever
and intelligent in that way, he picks up
things quickly – and I think that’s why
he’s developed so quickly. Not so much
talent – everyone’s got talent, it’s the
understanding of his game and how
quickly he’s processed it – that’s what’s
really stood out for me.”
April 29-May 2, Yorkshire v Derbyshire
Headingley, County Championship
1st innings
2nd innings
Runs
236
DNB
Balls
336
4s
24
Puts on 231 with Jonny Bairtsow (186), piling on
the runs to set up an innings victory.
May 9-12, England Lions v New Zealanders
Grace Road, Tour Match
1st innings
Runs
179
Balls
276
4s
25
Captain Joe stonewalls New Zealand’s Test attack
in 374 minutes of calm solidity.
P
hotographs finished, we take the
walk back round Headingley. How
is he finding the new fame, doing
interviews and stuff like this? “It’s all part of
it, isn’t it? You’ve got to be able to do that. I’m
still not very good at it but I’m getting better,
I suppose. I’m sure by the end of my career I
might be able to string a sentence together…”
We make our way from the museum –
the shrine to Yorkshire greats past – round
the back of the stands to the pavilion,
moving amongst some of the county
faithful on our way round. It’s the fi rst
game Root’s played at Headingley since his
big winter away with England. As we walk
and talk, he spots someone and smiles.
“Oh, hang on, this could be a while!”
“Who’s this then?” comes a
Yorkshireman’s voice. “How are yer,
Jack?” Root calls out. “Jack” is Jack
Bethel, a smiling grey-haired man in
spectacles and a Yorkshire CCC tracksuit
top. He’s a bit of a coaching legend at
Sheffield Collegiate and across the south
Yorkshire area, and a friend of Root’s
family who “followed him all the way”
through the system in Sheffield, coaching
his under 13 district team. Spending the
day up in Leeds, it’s by chance that he’s
bumped into his former prodigy now. And
according to him, the kid was a special one
before he was even potty trained.
“When he’d got nappies on, and he got a
cricket bat, I were thee-er. My wife looked
at him in’t nappies – because he had a bit
of an incontinence job, you know – and she
says, ‘He can play, can’t he?’ And I said,
‘Yeah, he can.’”
And how would Jack describe his boy
now? “Well, it’s like all good things:
quality, from Sheffield. It’s like steel!
Quality.” After some catching up on the
family and the club, Jack turns to Joe.
“Anyway, I’m delighted to see you!” “I
know,” says Joe, smiling back, “it’s been
too long.” “Well done, I’m really proud
May 16-19, England v New Zealand
Lord’s, Test Match
1st innings
2nd innings
Runs
40
71
Balls
114
120
4s
4
8
Strangled down the leg side in the first dig, in the second he
came in at No.4 – the score 36-2 – and batted England into a
winning position with the top score in the match.
May 24-28, England v New Zealand
Headingley, Test Match
Runs
Balls
4s
1st innings
104
167
9
2nd innings
28
22
4
Chanceless and inevitable: a joyous, impish maiden Test ton
in front of his home crowd.
CONSISTENT
SELECTION POLICY
TAKES ROOT
of you. You’re a bloody brilliant advert for young
people.” This fl inty old Yorkshireman’s eyes are
starting to water, now. “Cheers Jack.”
There then follows perhaps the most
quintessentially Yorkshire cricket conversation
AOC [he’s from Hampshire – ED] has ever
witnessed. Noticing that the white rose have lost
a few wickets (of which Joe is one) Jack makes
a blunt enquiry. “So why are they getting out,
Yorkshire then?”
Joe: It is April, Jack, it’s seaming everywhere.
We’ve played quite a few shots, but…
Jack: That’s it, innit! You don’t play a lot of shots
on seaming wickets, do you?
Joe: No, you try not to…
Jack: Your lot do, young’uns do now, don’t they…
Joe: The game’s evolving innit, Jack, you’ve got to
try and stick with it…
Jack: [Laughing] Yeah, but you…
Joe: [Knowing what’s coming, pointing to the
pavilion] Can’t score ‘em in there, can you?
Jack: You have got to stay in to get runs.
Joe: You’re dead right.
A lesson fastidiously taught in Yorkshire, and welllearned by this one. Already, he seems destined
to bestride the global stage for the majority of
his cricketing life, an international superstar;
very possibly, one day, his country’s captain. But
he is undeniably rooted here: in his parochial
heartland – he is a Yorkshire lad, even more: a son
of Sheffield, and Sheffield Collegiate CC. Things
are now moving very quickly in his young life,
but, for the moment at least, Joe Root knows very
well where he’s come from. And based on what
he’s shown us so far, we can all be pretty confident
about where he’s heading.
BY JOHN STERN
ROOT COMES IN TO A STABLE DRESSING ROOM AND FEELS
AT HOME. BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS LIKE THIS.
I
t was the fi rst day of July, 20 years ago. Mike Atherton, soon to be
captain, walked out to open the England innings at Nottingham
against Australia. Alongside him was Mark Lathwell, the shy,
talented 21-year-old Somerset batsman making his Test debut. In his
autobiography Atherton recalled: “I said to him, ‘Good luck, the crowd
are rooting for you.’ ‘They won’t be in a minute when I’m on my way
back,’ he replied.”
Atherton knew only too well how uniquely stressful an England
debut could be. Four years earlier he played his fi rst Test, also against
Australia, also in the midst of a thrashing. He was excited at being
called “master” by Graham Gooch, thinking it was a term of reverence
until he heard Gooch refer to the dressing-room attendant in the same
way. He was stuffed for £50 at the pre-match team dinner after David
Gower offered him a glass of wine and was defl ated by the “utter lack of
ceremony” of receiving his England cap.
Brian Close, England’s youngest debutant in 1949 at 18 years, 149
days, remembered with bitterness his fi rst overseas tour, to Australia
in 1950/51. “I was desperately anxious for one of those great players to
take me under his wing, to talk cricket with me, to tell me what a tour
involved [but] from beginning to end… none of the senior players offered
me one single word of advice about anything,” he wrote in I Don’t Bruise
Easily.
“I hope the Academy will ensure that the next crop of Test players
is not as naïve and ignorant as I was,” Atherton wrote. His wish was
the ECB’s command. Central ECB contracts were established in 2000
and the Academy opened for business in the winter of 2001/02. Since
then England’s selection policy has been more measured, scientific and
inclusive than at any time in history.
Joe Root is the 67th specialist batsman to make his Test debut for
England in the last 35 years, from the point when a curly-haired lefthander called David Gower pulled his fi rst ball in Test cricket from
Liaqat Ali for four with all the ease of a child playing swing-ball in his
back garden. Gower was 21 at the time, had a fi rst-class average just
under 27 and had scored only two fi rst-class hundreds.
As modern England batsmen go, he was a rarity in almost every
respect: his youth, his lack of county credentials and, most crucially
of all, he stayed in the side. His performances demanded his retention.
He kicked off with successive fi fties against Pakistan, made a century
against New Zealand later in the summer and made a double hundred –
his highest fi rst-class score at the time – against India the following year.
Gower’s class was exceptional so there was just no question of him
being dropped. He took to Test cricket in a way that England batsmen
so rarely did or, more to the point, were not given the chance to fi nd out.
Of those 67 debutants 43 played fewer than 20 Tests and that number
includes the likes of Root, Nick Compton, Jonny Bairstow and James
Taylor, whose careers are embryonic.

AOC || 23
47
THE CLASS OF
There are eight one-cap wonders but only one since
Alan Wells’ famous first-baller at The Oval in 1995 and
that is Michael Carberry on a tour of Bangladesh in
2010/11 when Andrew Strauss was rested. There were
a number of batsmen in the 1980s who played a decent
number of Tests but spread over such a long period of
time: Chris Tavaré, 31 Tests in nine years, Bill Athey 23
in eight years, and Wayne Larkins, 13 in 11 years, being
prime examples.
From Gower’s debut in 1978 to 1989 there were 16
debutant batsmen whose total of Test caps amount
to a single figure. There were 10 more in the 1990s.
In the past decade, since Paul Collingwood’s debut
in late 2003, there have been six but of only Carberry
and Owais Shah would one say, with any degree of
confidence, that their England careers were completed.
Root is both a cause and a symptom of the
consistency of England’s recent batting selection. He
earned the right to be picked – first-class average of
38 with four hundreds – but he entered a line-up with
several hundred caps of experience. No wonder he
looks so at home.
THE DEBUTANTS
1978–89
1990–99
2000–13
Eng Tests
121
107
171
Bat debuts
28
19
20
Tests per debutant
4.3
5.6
8.5
BATSMEN WHO PLAYED 20 TESTS OR MORE
Player
1978–89 David Gower
Chris Tavaré
Bill Athey
Allan Lamb
Graeme Fowler
Chris Broad
Tim Robinson
Robin Smith
Mike Atherton
1990–99 Nasser Hussain
Alec Stewart
Graeme Hick
Mark Ramprakash
Graham Thorpe
John Crawley
Mark Butcher
Michael Vaughan
2000–13 Marcus Trescothick
Paul Collingwood
Andrew Strauss
Ian Bell
Kevin Pietersen
Alastair Cook
Jonathan Trott
Tests
117
31
23
79
21
25
29
62
115
96
133
65
52
100
37
71
82
76
68
100
88
94
92
43
Span (yrs)
14
9
8
10
3
5
5
8
12
14
13
10
11
12
9
7
9
6
8
8
9
8
8
4
Tests/yr
8.3
3.4
2.8
7.9
7.0
5.0
5.8
7.7
9.6
6.8
10.2
6.5
4.7
8.3
4.1
10.1
9.1
12.6
8.5
12.5
9.7
11.7
11.4
10.5
*Statistics correct as of the end of England’s second Test v
New Zealand, 2013
24
48| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| july2013
2013
2010
jo Harman spoke to Hampshire’s james Vince – the next likely lad
on the conveyor belt of graduates from England’s 2010 under 19
World Cup campaign on the cusp of senior recognition.
Azeem Rafiq (captain) – Yorkshire
First-class: 23 (matches played)
List A matches: 17
Adam Ball – Kent
First-class: 9
List A: 18
Michael Bates – Hampshire
First-class: 34
List A: 31
Paul Best – Warwickshire
First-class: 10
List A: 13
Danny Briggs – Hampshire
ODI: 1
T20I: 3
First-class: 42
List A: 46
Nathan Buck – Leicestershire
First-class: 47
List A: 28
Three years ago Joe Root was part of an England squad that
travelled to New Zealand for the Under 19 World Cup. The
expectation was that this talented pack of greenhorns – some
said the most talented in a generation – could emulate the
achievements of the teens led by Owais Shah in 1998 and
return home with the trophy. They began strongly, easing
through the group stage with three wins from three, but
came unstuck in their quarter-final against the West Indies,
finishing 18 runs short in their pursuit of 167 with Root falling
for a seven-ball duck.
Root has gone on to become the flag-bearer for his age group,
the name on everyone’s lips, already being touted as captaincy
material. But while Root has led the way, some fellow graduates
from the class of 2010 are not too far behind. Ben Stokes –
who hit a freewheeling 88-ball century against India in that
tournament three years ago – has played a handful of limitedovers matches for the senior side, Jos Buttler is now England’s
first-choice keeper in coloured clothing and left-arm twirler
Danny Briggs has gone toe-to-toe with the game’s cleanest
hitters at the World Twenty20.
If you were to predict the next of the class of 2010 to enter
further education the smart money would be on James Vince.
Since becoming the second youngest player to pass 1,000 career
runs for Hampshire he’s struggled to string sporadic eye-catching
knocks into something more permanent. But after beginning
2013 with three tons and two half-centuries in six innings, the
silky smooth right-hander is beginning to show why Duncan
Fletcher once compared Vince to a young Michael Vaughan.
Who would you have picked out from
that squad as the most likely to break
into the full England set-up?
It was quite clear that Stokesy [Ben
Stokes, pictured right] was going to go
on and play for England; he showed that
in the India game. I think he’ll be back in
the fold pretty soon as long as he stays fit.
We were up against him recently and he
played a fantastic innings, and he’s been
taking a lot of wickets. But I can genuinely
say the majority of the guys in that team
had a chance of going on and playing at
the highest level.
Did you go into the 2010 Under 19 World Cup thinking you
had the team to win it?
Yeah, we did. We were lucky enough that it fell in our age bracket
because they don’t do Under 19 World Cups every year and we
had a pretty good squad. We were really excited about it and were
playing good cricket up until the quarter-finals when we came
out on the wrong side against the West Indies. But we had a good
side there. Azeem Rafiq was captain, I was vice, and then we had
Rooty [Joe Root], Ben Stokes, Chris Dent, Briggsy [Danny Briggs]
and Jos Buttler. Some of the guys have gone on and done pretty
well in county cricket and international cricket as well, so we
had a pretty strong age group.
Did Jos Buttler have his full range of
ramp and scoop shots even then?
He’s always been a clean striker of the
ball but his game has moved on a lot. He
was always a talented player – I played
with him through from under 13s so I’m
pretty good mates with him – and I think
he’s probably one of the best at the end of
the innings in world cricket at the moment.
He was about average within the squad in
physical terms but he’s a strong boy and he
just times the ball so well.
How about Joe Root? Did you expect
him to be playing Test cricket three
years later?
He had the attitude and he’s an organised
player but to be honest he probably
wouldn’t have been the one I’d have picked
out and said he would’ve gone on to play
Test cricket for England the quickest. He
worked hard at his game and he’s pretty
level-headed. He’s obviously knuckled
down and performed well in county
cricket and when he’s been given his
chance he’s done well.
Jos Buttler – Somerset
ODI: 6
T20I: 21
First-class: 44
List A: 59
Chris Dent – Gloucestershire
First-class: 40
List A: 16
Matt Dunn – Surrey
First-class: 6
List A: 1
Ateeq Javid – Warwickshire
First-class: 10
List A: 3
Jack Manuel – Unattached
First-class: 1
List A: 7
David Payne – Gloucestershire
First-class: 26
List A: 29
What do you think are the biggest
challenges for a young cricketer
making the step up from age group to
first-class cricket?
There’s no release in first-class cricket. The
games come thick and fast and there’s a
temptation after a few low scores, especially
when you’re young, to wonder if you need
to change your game. You’ve always got
someone coming at you and after playing for
a few years the opposition get to work you
out and know your strengths. The more you
play against people the harder it can become.
You know bowlers know what you’re trying
to do so you’ve got to be one step ahead and
try to out-think them. You need to make
small adaptations along the way, little
changes, but on the whole you’ve got to stick
with what got you there in the first place.
Did you find that a struggle?
Yeah, definitely. It probably took me another
year or so to adapt but I feel like my game’s
moved on this year and I’ve been lucky
enough to get some scores under my belt
early on, so hopefully I can kick on for the rest
of this season and get some more big runs.
Joe Root – Yorkshire
Test: 5
ODI: 8
T20I: 2
First-class: 45
List A: 36
Ben Stokes – Durham
ODI: 5
T20I: 2
First-class: 50
List A: 46
James Vince (vice-captain) –
Hampshire
First-class: 58 matches,
batting average 34.79,
7 centuries
List A: 56 matches,
batting average 37.40,
3 centuries
What’s the next step for you? Is oneday cricket your best route into the
England side initially?
Over the last couple of years I’ve been
more consistent in one-day cricket than
I have in four-day cricket. I would have
liked to perform better on the Lions trips
that I’ve been on but it’s good to have
games with them; it’s an opportunity
to work with different coaches and get
to know the system. The Lions tour [to
Australia] last winter came in a period
when I was making a few tweaks to my
game and I was probably caught in the
middle a little bit in terms of how to
approach my batting, but looking back I
can see it’s been beneficial with the good
start to the season I’ve had. Now I’ve got
to try and perform consistently well for
Hampshire and if I’m lucky enough to get
an opportunity with England, whenever
that is, hopefully I’ll take it.
By nature you’re an attacking batsman.
Was it important you didn’t lose that
instinct, even when things weren’t
going your way?
I think I play my best cricket when I’m
positive but in certain situations on different
wickets you do have to refrain a bit and
knuckle down. You’ve got to be a bit more
patient sometimes and this year my game
plan’s been going pretty well, especially
early on in my innings, waiting for the
bowlers to bowl the bad balls and jumping on
the opportunity to put them away.
AOC || 25
49
ING
OC ACHSPECIAL
[THE COACHES’ COACH]
DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE COACHING
AND TECHNIQUE AND ALL THAT. IT’S
PURELY ON THE NUMBER OF BALLS YOU
FACE, HIT, BOWL AND CATCH. THAT’S
THE WAY TO GET BETTER…”
NASSER HUSSAIN
CATCH IT
BOWL IT
HIT IT
26
60| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| JULY2013
2013
S
ome might say, with good reason,
that it’s a bit contrary to kick off a
monstrous coaching special with a
quote about the limitations of coaching. But
what we’ve done is to round up an indoorschool-full of players and coaches and
get them talking about how they play and
coach the game. The thinking being that
every single person who has stepped onto
the cricket field is unique, and that part of
cricket’s genius is that no two players are
the same.
In 1984, Bob Woolmer wrote these words
in his autobiography: “Cricket has always
resisted change. If the game is to survive, we
must ensure that it moves with the times.”
How right he was. The times have
certainly been a changing. Shots that
would have been inconceivable in previous
eras are now played routinely. Bowlers
have more deliveries up their sleeves than
ever before. Fielding skills have been
revolutionised. And all of this makes for a
more compelling and entertaining game.
Woolmer, of course, would become
one of the game’s greatest ever thinkercoaches. His Art and Science of Cricket,
first published in 2008, remains perhaps
the definitive book on the principles of
playing cricket, and his assertion – that
an active cricketing mind will naturally
soak up as many theories and philosophies
about how to play the game before choosing
what works for them – underpins our own
efforts here.
Over the next 21 pages we bring you the
skills and theories of some of the most
prominent thinkers, coaches and players
in the game today. Then it’s over to you. It’s
time to hit the nets and get practising.
PETER
MOORES
THE MOST RESPECTED HOMEGROWN COACH IN ENGLISH CRICKET AND A RECENT INDUCTEE
ONTO UK SPORT’S ELITE PROGRAMME FOR WORLD-CLASS COACHING DEVELOPMENT, THE
LANCASHIRE HEAD COACH IS ONE OF THE GAME’S FINEST THINKERS. HERE HE REVEALS
HIS COACHING PHILOSOPHY.
Coaching’s pretty new to cricket. In
many ways it’s pretty new to English sport.
Probably some of the oldest coaching
systems are in America. As coaching’s
evolved, the danger is it gets over-technical,
and I think it’s gone through that process –
hopefully it’s coming out the other end.
I’ve never really been a technical
coach. I think this has been a strength for
me. I’ve always looked more on outcomes:
Can you swing it, can you not? If you can’t,
then you’ve got a problem in England. Can
you play straight? Some of the basics of
the game have never changed: you have to
be able to control the bat face, you’ve got to
be able to play straight, you’ve got to play
the moving ball, you’ve got to be able to
play against pace.
If coaching’s wrong, it’s like a satnav. It stops you thinking, and it’s got an
annoying voice, it never shuts up, and it
keeps on nagging. But when coaching gets
it right, it poses the right questions. Then
the player has to find the answers with the
help of a coach. But the solution somebody
comes up with isn’t always the same for
each person.
Sport is still more of an art form than
a science. There are different ways of
doing it. Science can advise, technology
can maybe accelerate development, but
you still can’t get away from the fact that
it’s a skill in its own right that you have to
deliver, often under pressure.
Talent is not a badge of achievement.
Talent is talent, potential’s potential,
performance is performance. If you
get your set-ups right, you reward
performance. You encourage talent and
you give it opportunity but it doesn’t mean
it’s going to deliver; it’s the player who
delivers that talent into skill.
you what you can and can’t do. About two
thirds of people are out caught, so keep it
along the ground, and hitting it hard is a
good way to start as a youngster. Don’t get
over-technical about it, and then see how
things develop.
With the system I was first involved
in, there weren’t as many coaches,
and there were more senior players.
So you had the great advantage of having
freedom to explore and no one particularly
getting in your way, and the disadvantage
that there was no information around and
if the senior players knew the information
they might not always give it away –
because it was theirs, they’d worked
bloody hard to get it and they were trying
to stay in the side. But the modern system
is great – there’s lots of information out
there. In some ways the danger being
there’s too much information. You’re
sometimes trying to protect your players
from the next fad – and saying, ‘Let’s
keep it pretty simple’. Simple things work
because they’re repeatable.
As a bowler, try and run in a straight
line, bowl in a straight line and follow
through in a straight line. All those things
give you the basics. The basics of most
sports are balance, alignment, and rhythm.
And the only way you’ll have rhythm is if
you’re relaxed.
When people say there’s no ‘I’ in
‘team’ I think they’re talking rubbish.
Without an individual agenda, you’re
knackered. You need a strong individual
drive – providing your agenda never goes
above the team’s, it’s great, it’s fine. If
you get your own individual gains at the
expense of someone else in the team then
it doesn’t work.
If I’m coaching a youngster I say to
them: ‘Try to hit the ball hard along the
ground.’ It’s very simple, but it will show
As a coach you are trying to make
yourself redundant. Your ultimate goal
is to be outside of it all, so it runs itself. It’s
a lovely thing to feel like you’re there, but
you’re not there. It’s self-generating. It’s a
myth that the coach wants to stand there
marshalling his troops. He doesn’t, he
wants to facilitate, to create opportunities
for people to lead and make their own
decisions.
I’ve had some good wins, but it doesn’t
make you complacent. The more you
know, and the more you watch, the more
respectful you get of the game. You’ve got
to be very careful with players, because
if you say the wrong thing, you can put a
gremlin in their head that can be very hard
to get rid of. So if you’re not sure, shut up
and wait and watch, and then over time, if
you think something is going to help them,
then have a chat and see what they think
about it. The more they think you might be
right, the more responsibility your words
carry, so you’ve got to be careful.
www.alloutcricket.com| |AOC
AOC| | 27
61
ING
OC ACHSPECIAL
HITTING THE BOOKS
PAUL
COLLINGWOOD
[FINISHING]
1
ENGLAND’S FORMER ONE-DAY CAPTAIN AND SPECIALIST FINISHER ON
‘GETTING IT DONE’.
THE THRILL OF THE CHASE
[MINDSET]
VIKRAM
SOLANKI
SILK WRISTED STALWART
OVERANALYSIS
CAN BE A
HINDRANCE
As a captain, do you outline certain milestones through the innings?
No, because I didn’t like our batsmen to feel under more pressure in terms
of adding in more targets and so on. Sometimes targets within a chase can
restrict you a little bit; at times you can be well ahead of what you ‘need’ and
then batsmen can take their foot off the gas and let the opposition back in.
You also don’t want to restrict batsmen – if they think they can take a bowler
down, then give them the license to do that.
JONATHAN
TROTT
IMMOVABLE OBJECT
What are you views on pinch-hitters? Are they worth the risk?
I think they are. Every team has different strengths – if you have guys lower
down who are good at hitting the new ball then of course it makes sense
to get them in if you’ve lost a wicket early. Often you’ll find your No.9 or
10 hits a big ball, while your middle order batsmen might be really good
at manoeuvring the ball around. It’s a risk but there is value in sending in
someone who can hit a quick 40 and rile the bowlers. Generally, the best
batsmen can adapt to any situation but if it comes off the pinch-hitters can
be very effective.
I END UP
TALKING A
DIFFERENT
LANGUAGE
ABOUT
BATTING
You flourished in ODI cricket as a finisher in the middle order. How
did you approach your role?
I try to break it down as much as possible. My personal preference is to look
at the score we need to get, half it and that’s what I’m aiming to get with the
bat. Firstly, you’ve got to get yourself in, and depending on what you need
to get and how much time you have left, that dictates how quickly you need
to do it. Find out what shots are good options on the wicket, by hitting balls
into gaps and getting a feel for how it’s coming onto the bat. Be prepared to
take risks, regardless of how many runs or overs you have left. Chances are
when you’re coming in at No.5 or 6, you’ll always need to take a few risks because the field is probably out and the ball won’t come onto the bat as well.
Have the nuances of chasing changed? Twenty20 cricket seems to
have made no score unreachable.
I think people are better at chasing totals than ever before. I certainly don’t
have the skills that some of these guys have nowadays – people really seem
to have no fear now. I don’t know why that is – it’s scary! They don’t worry
about the consequences of getting out. We just played a four-day game at
Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire and knocked off 180-odd in 21 overs
and that’s without bowling or fielding restrictions. Batsmen can now hit
powerful shots, 360-degrees.
28
68| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| JULY2013
2013
I’ve had a number of moments in my career where
things haven’t gone for me. I don’t think any cricketer
– whether amateur or one of the greats – goes through
their career without any self doubt. It is a brilliant
game for the fact that you have a series of individual
performances that are very significant considering the
contribution it makes towards the team performance.
You can get to a stage where you over-analyse so
much that it can be a hindrance to yourself and your
team. Break it down; remember why you’re in the team
and keep things simple.
WIN A BAT A DAY!
Colly is an ambassador for Yorkshire Bank,
who are giving away a free cricket bat every day
during the YB40 season.
Visit www.facebook.com/YorkshireBankCricket
to enter
It’s good to get used to the other guy when you’re
batting, so you know what to expect. Get accustomed
to knowing their game. With Belly [Ian Bell], I just know
when he’s going to hit it through that gap in the field. I
know his game because I’ve played with him so much.
With someone like Kev [Pietersen] you’ve got to be
a bit more aware, because he likes to drop and go,
but you get used to it. I actually talk a little differently
as well – I end up talking a different language about
batting. My mindset at the non striker’s end changes
a little, and what I say between overs in the middle
may change, depending on who I’m batting with.
Sometimes I’ll talk about things that get them going.
You’ve got to be aware of how the other guy works
and what he needs.
JACK TEAGUE SEARCHES THE AOC ARCHIVES FOR
THE TITLES THAT EVERY TECHNIQUE CONSCIOUS
CRICKETER SHOULD HAVE ON THEIR BOOKSHELF.
THE MCC CRICKET COACHING BOOK
HARRY ALTHAM
Cricket’s equivalent to the Ten Commandments. Even in this era
of slower ball bouncers and range hitting, this tome – which
went through various editions before being reinvented as the
equally iconic, Tony Lewis (he of the TMS-certified Welsh burr)
edited MCC Masterclass – remains the touchstone for any cricketer who aspires
to a high front elbow and a sturdy long barrier. Still relevant, still majestic.
THE ART OF CRICKET
SIR DON BRADMAN
The wisdom of the game’s statistical juggernaut distilled into
236 pages. For a man whose detractors claim he reduced cricket
to a ruthless, mechanical process it’s downright romantic, full of
evocative language and striking, Penn-esque photography. Richie
Benaud waxes lyrical about the book’s qualities in his foreword, and if it’s good
enough for the beige-blazered one it’s good enough for us.
GREG CHAPPELL ON COACHING
GREG CHAPPELL
A fascinating – occasionally baffling – insight into the mind of
one of cricket’s most forward-thinking coaches. Concepts such as
‘unweighting’ (the transition phase that Chappell argues unifies
all great cricketers) and ‘streamlined mental processes’ abound. It might not be
the book to chuck a youngster looking for a few pointers about his leg break, but
it’s an engaging read for anyone prepared to broaden their horizons a tad.
BOB WOOLMER’S ART AND SCIENCE OF CRICKET
BOB WOOLMER, TIM NOAKES & HELEN MOFFETT
The benchmark. Weighty, meticulously compiled, endlessly passionate. More than just a ‘how to’, this one dares to ask ‘why’
too. As much a manifesto for all that’s good in cricket as a straight coaching
manual, Woolmer’s open-minded fascination with the game’s many mysteries
jumps off every page. Also available in handy discipline-specific (batting, bowling, you can guess the rest…) volumes.
THE FAST BOWLER’S BIBLE
IAN PONT
A book that gives hope that even the most inoffensive trundlers
amongst us can gain a yard of pace. Pont – who has worked
with Essex, Bangladesh and Dhaka Gladiators among others – is
a man who analyses a bowler’s mechanics as much as his skills. The only book
that has, to date, got an AOC staffer to clasp onto a doorframe with his bowling
arm while performing lunges, all the while swearing he can feel the benefits.
AND TWO RECENT ‘HOW TO’ MANUALS...
INSPIRED CRICKET: PRACTISE WITH PURPOSE
IAIN BRUNNSCHWEILER
Boasting more drills than you can shake a Gray-Nicolls at, this
love letter to the training session – written by the England
Development Programme Under 17 coach – is ideal for any
enthusiastic, forward-thinking coach looking to up their game. Colourful images,
easy-to-follow drills and numerous tips from many top pros.
YOUTH CRICKET COACHING
ROB MAIER & JOHN STERN
Anything that Wisden is prepared to put its name to is going to
be a cracking read, and this serves as a handy one-stop-shop for
players, coaches and teachers alike. Practical and authoritative
but never preachy, it will be especially useful for parents who want to encourage
their cricket-obsessed child but could do with a helpful hand along the way.
AOC || 29
69
ING IAL
H
C
A
CO SPEC
WARM UP LIKE
THE PROS
1
Middlesex head physio Pete Waxman
runs through the six stages the county’s
players go through to minimise the risk
of injuries and maximise performance.
1 Prehab: Each player has a set of individual exercises to do before the
warm-up itself. We do screening during the off-season and based on that – plus
any previous injuries and the player’s role in the team – we’ll set a five-minute
programme of exercises to do before getting into the warm-up.
2 Team talk to switch on: At Middlesex the captain and coach always
deliver the team talk on the pitch before the main warm-up to ensure the players
are switched on from the start. A good warm-up should be stimulating and
interesting so that players really focus on the day’s work ahead. 3 Dynamic stretching: Our strength and
conditioning coach steps in at this point and
takes the players through some dynamic
stretching. This could involve lunging, sidestepping movements, and loosening the arms.
4 Game with a fun element: We
often play football at Middlesex but also
handball games. The games are good for
additional stretching and coordination but
must have a competitive element.
5 Functional activities: Then we’re into the
functional movements the players will replicate during
the day’s play. Players will get in pairs with a catching
mitt and throw a ball to each other over five metres,
then 10 metres and so on. Some will also use medicine
ball throws or therabands at this point.
6 Specialist skills: Finally, it’s over to
the coaches for the players to work on
their specialist skills. By then they should
be physically ready, fully switched on and
ready for the day.
7 Final thoughts: Try to do this warm-up as close to the start of play as
possible. If you bat first, try and perform dynamic stretches at regular intervals
while waiting to go in. A good warm-up isn’t just about avoiding injuries – it
will improve your performance, so don’t cut corners. Do the preparation, and the
results will speak for themselves.
Pete Waxman is head physiotherapist at Middlesex and works for Optima-Life.
He has worked with the professional squad at Middlesex for the last six years.
Visit www.optima-life.com for details.
To find a physio near your club, visit csp.org.uk and use the physio2u search tool.
30
70| |AOC
AOC| |JUNE
JULY2013
2013
STEP
BY
STEP
BOWLING
WHEELS
1
IAN PONT IS AN EXPERT ON FAST BOWLING
WHO’S WORKED WITH THE LIKES OF DALE
STEYN, SHOAIB AKTHAR, AND DARREN
GOUGH. NOW HEAD COACH OF THE BPL’S
DHAKA GLADIATORS, HE’S ALSO WORKED AS
BOWLING COACH FOR BOTH BANGLADESH
AND THE NETHERLANDS. HE’S THE AUTHOR
OF THE FAST BOWLER’S BIBLE AND MORE
RECENTLY, ULTIMATE PACE SECRETS. HERE
IS HIS GUIDE TO BOWLING WHEELS.
2
3
4
PONT’S FOUR
TENT PEGS
Bowling fast is all about maximising the action. You can take
somebody who has a raw talent and develop it right the way to the
end and turn them into a great fast bowler.
There are four things in the crease that are vitally
important to bowling fast. These ‘four tent pegs’ are
the things that hold your action in shape.
For a demonstration of the four positions practiced in sequence,
go to www.alloutcricket.com/player/coaching/ianpontcoaching
1
2
3
4
Back foot impact
Front foot impact
Release position
Exit stride
THE MODEL: A simple bowling model is Brett Lee.
Most bowlers get into my ‘four tent peg’ positions in
their own way, but if you were to produce an android
for bowling fast, you’d have Brett Lee’s bowling action.
3
RELEASE POSITION
Run up: It doesn’t have to be absolutely
gun barrel straight, but avoid an overly angled
run. High ground speed is good, but run ups are
functional – they’re important for generating
momentum, but they’re just your journey to work:
the real work is done in the crease.
Body shape: You actually get quite low in
the action, contrary to popular myth. That creates
a ‘V’ shape on its side at the point of release
(where the bowling arm and front leg are the two
branches of the V) You become a human catapult
with your front leg a rod to bowl against.
Hang time: It isn’t important to jump at
all – but a lot of bowlers say it feels right for
them – and that’s okay, because fast bowling is
a feeling. Whatever bound you have it’s got to be
balanced, it’s got to be FORWARD, otherwise you
lose your ground speed. It’s long jump, not high
jump. You should be jumping at least three times
as far forward as you do up in the air.
After landing you smash your hips through the
crease: power comes from the core. You leave
the arm as far back as possible and then use
your hips to pull it. The reason Malinga is able to
bowl so fast is because he takes his arm so far
back behind him. It’s not brush your ear, high arm,
traditional textbook stuff – which doesn’t lead
to pace or bounce; that’s a fallacy. The quickest
bowlers will drag their back foot across the
ground through the crease, because if you lift it
off the ground you lose some power at the base.
Back foot landing: The angle your back foot
lands will depend on whether you are a side-on
or front-on bowler – but both feet will need to
land at the same angle.
PACE AND ACCURACY:
PERFECT PARTNERS
People still think you have to slow down to bowl a line and length.
I want to hit my area at high speed. The most accurate you can be
is when your mechanics work well, and your speed is high. If you
get your action right, you just become a human bowling machine.
People with strange actions can still be great fast bowlers, but the
majority will all have certain fundamentals working well.
BACK FOOT IMPACT
2
FRONT FOOT IMPACT
Aligned with your back foot landing, this
happens within micro seconds through the crease.
The quickest bowlers land with a straight leg
and your front foot blocks the momentum you’ve
built up with your run up and landing. The energy is
then transferred from the lower body to the upper
body. It’s a rapid deceleration at the base, which
creates rapid acceleration at the top. You then end
up bowling against your front leg, to generate pace.
Whether you’ve started side-on or front on,
when you release the ball your hips and nose
should be facing the batsman; we all bowl front
on when we let the ball go. You have to face
where you’re bowling the ball.
4
EXIT STRIDE
Follow through – leaving the crease: Drive
out of your action at pace following the direction
of the ball. Use your momentum in straight lines
to take you out of the crease, your head and
chest leading and all movement continuing along
the line of the ball.
PRACTISE THE ‘FOUR TENT PEGS’
Split the four positions apart, practise them separately, put them together
very slowly, build it up. Do this over and over again until you become
comfortable with all the positions. You do them in slow motion, from a
static position, hold each position for a few seconds, look in the mirror,
check yourself, feel what muscles are working, keep doing it thousands
and thousands of times. The drills are ones anybody can do.
To find out more about Ian and to find further video instruction, visit www.maverickscricket.com
ING
OC ACHSPECIAL
[LEG SPIN]
THE GRANDEST
ART
IAN SALISBURY
THE FINEST ENGLISH LEG SPINNER
OF THE MODERN ERA AND NOW
SURREY’S FIRST TEAM COACH TALKS
US THROUGH THE FUNDAMENTALS OF
BOWLING WRIST SPIN.
“THE AIM OF ANY SPINNER IS TO
HAVE THEIR BOWLING ARM PATH
GOING TOWARDS THE TARGET”
IN FOCUS
THE MASTER
Shane Warne hardly bowled any googlies, because
his power came from being more side on. His arm
came slightly lower, his massive power was his leg
spinner. Warne also bowled a lot of back spinners,
where he would put his palm forward, and instead
of rotating and moving his thumb forward for
the conventional leg break, he moved his thumb
back inwards, so now he had the back of his hand
pointing forwards. Then he’d flick with his third
finger back towards himself, creating back spin. He
bowled a lot of back spinners and leggies, because
it was easier for Warne to rotate his hand back
towards himself.
With the Warne flipper, you’re rotating your
hand again so the thumb’s pointing forwards, and
now this time your thumb is on the ball, and you’re
holding it with your first two fingers. Now you flick
it out of the front, like you’re clicking your fingers
but with a ball in between. When Warne held the
ball, he held it with his first two fingers very close
together, rather than equally spread, so he doubled
the power, and he would flick the ball with the
seam pointing forwards. It was an unbelievable
ball to try. But he had accuracy and venom at
utopian levels. And part of his genius was that he
kept evolving all the time.
32
76| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| JULY2013
2013
T
echnically, you want to get the
basics right, but ultimately
you want to spin the ball
as much as possible. I talk about a
bowler getting the maximum venom
that they can produce, delivered with
maximum accuracy. Always try and
spin the ball as much as possible.
The aim of any spinner is to have
their bowling arm path going towards
the target. The game of cricket
revolves around the top of off stump,
and the bowling arm path should go
towards that target of off stump.
The rest of your body affects where
your bowling arm goes. The aim is
to get it coming over on that path
towards off stump, but if it isn’t going
towards the target then you work
backwards to see if there’s anything
to explain why it’s not going towards
the desired target. It can vary from
foot position to run-up, to the lead
arm falling away, to the lead arm not
following through across or down
your body.
The bowling arm of all leading spin
bowlers is as quick as possible. The
arm should come over as quick as a
fast bowler – just with spin on the
ball. Arm speed adds to deception.
With Shane Warne, although
he had a rounder arm trajectory
than other wrist spinners like Anil
Kumble and Mushtaq Ahmed, he was
still aiming to get his bowling arm
coming over as straight as possible. I
knew when I was technically not as
good as I could be it was because my
arm was lower than it should be.
When people ask me where spin
comes from, I say, ‘What’s the last
thing it touches?’ The fingers. So if
you imagine a whip, the last bit that
hits is like that crack, and that’s the
fingers. And then from there you
work back, through the fingers, the
wrist, the arm, the shoulder – the
base of the whole action. There are
so many elements. You’re looking to
get the base right, then the perfect
velocity through the crease, the
perfect arm speed in delivery, and
then the perfect way for the ball to
come off the fingers.
You need momentum through the
crease. You’re potentially providing
side spin, for example. If you’re
trying to spin it from right to left,
how are you going to get the ball
to go forward 22 yards? It’s that
velocity which comes from the base
that you provide, and then your
bowling arm is going towards the
target as your fingers are then trying
to impart side spin.
GARY
KEEDY
TIMELESS TWIRLER
WHAT’S THE BASIC GRIP FOR A
CONVENTIONAL LEG BREAK?
Your basic grip is to hold the ball between your index finger and your
third finger, with the thumb not on the ball. If you imagine where your
thumb is, if you’re imparting spin and it finally comes off from the third
finger, your thumb and other fingers will act as a hand-brake. Your
thumb will stop the spin if you’re trying to spin it from right to left for
the conventional leg spinner. So, the ball is held in the first two fingers
and the third finger flicks it off the ball. That’s your basic grip. But
there are all sorts of grips. Mushtaq Ahmed held it differently to Shane
Warne, who held it differently to Anil Kumble. Everybody has their
own way, and if they’re imparting the right amount of spin on the ball,
it might just be natural to them. If the ball is coming over on the right
path, it’s probably the thing that you don’t look to change.
1
BOWL WITH
YOUR EYES
CLOSED
If I’ve got any kind of technical issues, I go back
to a net and bowl with my eyes shut. What
you’re doing then is trusting the action you
were given – the one that feels natural. You
don’t need cones, training aids or a batsman at
the other end. You’re taking out all the external
factors that influence how you bowl and just
getting to the root of the problem.
You have your full run-up, but you shut your
eyes as you get into your delivery stride. In
your head you’re visualising what to bowl and
then trusting your arm speed, alignment and
follow-through. I’m not so worried about where
it goes, more about what happens to the shape
of the ball and what it does off the pitch – obviously you’ll get a mate or a coach to tell you
that for you! For me, it’s a true test whether I’m
technically where I want to be. That might take
an over or three – and you may need your coach
or partner to tell you it’s coming out well – but
it’s a good way to recalibrate yourself.
SPINNING THE WHEEL
When [ECB lead spin bowling coach] Peter Such and
me teach other coaches about spin, we use this piece of
apparatus to illustrate what we’re talking about with
the ‘bowling arm path’. It’s a pole on a stand and there’s
a bicycle wheel attached to it. We say that the pole is
the human being – that’s the rest of the body – and the
wheel is the bowling arm. Both hands start together at
the centre of the wheel. Then, for a right-arm bowler, we
get the left arm to the top of the wheel, and the bowling
arm to the bottom, which means fully extending your
arm. And once you get the wheel on target, aimed
towards off stump, you start to pull the top of the wheel
down with your leading arm, and then your bowling arm
comes over in a perfect circle towards the target.
Consider these side-on spinners: Graeme Swann. He
runs in, gets side on, and both hands are together, then
they separate, and his left arm pulls down and his
bowling arm goes straight over towards the target. It’s
the same principle as the wheel. Shane Warne: hands
together, left arm pulls down, right arm comes over the
top. Monty, a left-arm spinner, but it still applies: hands
start together, his right arm pulls it down, the left arm
comes over perfectly from bottom to top. And that’s how
we coach.
MUSCLE MEMORY
2
We do another demonstration to kids that’s called ‘going round the clock’
and it’s to do with developing your muscle memory. I get a ball in my hand and
spin it from my right hand to my left hand while talking to a group, and I’ll go
through the full leggie, then I’ll change my wrist to a half leggie, top spinner,
half googly, googly, back spinner, flipper, just flicking it from one hand to
another, but showing that you can increase muscle memory just by flicking
that ball from one hand to another.
AOC | | 33
77
Hell4leatHer HellFire Monster
SRP: £240
Forget the modern vogue for huge but
featherweight blades, there are no half
measures with this Hell4Leather – it’s both
absolutely massive and unwieldily heavy – 2lb
15.5oz-worth of heavy – with meat from top to
bottom. But if you’ve got the minerals – and if
you’re going to choose this stick you’d better
had – it’ll go like an absolute train. Once
gravity gets the blade swinging there’ll be no
stopping it.
And it’s nasty – even down to the black-andred ‘HellFire’ styling. If ever there was a
monster bat that a real monster would use, it’s
this. Just try not to let it fly out of your hand,
or you could be up before the beak for the
manslaughter of an umpire.
We’ve heard for a long time that bats are getting bigger, but you might soon need a
We’ve
heard
forof
a today’s
long time
that
bats are getting
bigger,
need a
licence
to use
some
T20
mega-weapons.
and
herebut
areyou
fourmight
of thesoon
biggest
licence
to
use
some
of
today’s
T20
mega-weapons.
and
here
are
four
of
the
biggest
around. Those of a sensitive disposition look away, but if you think you can handle
around. Those
ofthis
a sensitive
disposition
look
away,
butfeast
if you
think
you
the monstrous
size of
selection
of sluggers,
feel
free to
your
eyes
oncan
fourhandle
the monstrous
size of
of cricketing
this selection
of sluggers, feel free to feast your eyes on four
frighteningly
big beasts
burden.
frighteningly big beasts of cricketing burden.
BulldoG Barrera
SRP: £275
BulldoG Barrera
SRP: £275
Don’t be confused by the pretty lilac stickering, this big Bulldog is a bruiser. Not the
heaviest
of our
selection
(you
canstickering,
pick this one
without
use
a crane)Not
butthe
a
Don’t
be heavy-set
confused by
the pretty
lilac
thisupbig
Bulldog
is of
a bruiser.
lovely piece
of wood,
beautiful
grains,(you
an expert
finish,
andup
a big
concave
heaviest
of ourwith
heavy-set
selection
can pick
this one
without
usemeaty
of a crane) but a
sectionlovely
behind
chunky
edges.
Just
about possible
shots
without
of meaty
piece
of wood,
with
beautiful
grains, to
anplay
expert
finish,
and two
a bigyears’
concave
heavy strength
training,
once edges.
you connect
you feel
the power
that
lieswithout
within that
section behind
chunky
Just about
possible
to play
shots
two broad
years’ of
sweetspot.
This
is onetraining,
Bulldog whose
biteconnect
is even worse
than
bark.
heavy
strength
once you
you feel
the its
power
that lies within that broad
sweetspot. This is one Bulldog whose bite is even worse than its bark.
Edge width: 3.8cm
Middle
at thickest
point (face to spine): 5.8cm
Edge
width: 3.8cm
Middle at thickest point (face to spine): 5.8cm
Photographs by Joe Provis
Edge width: 3.7cm
Middle at thickest point (face to spine):
6.1cm
!
S
R
!
E
S
T
S
R
MMOONNSTE
34
2013
90| AOC
| AOC| JUNE
| april
2013
AOC| | 35
91
spartan CG autHority
SRP: £319.95
Big with a capital HUGE. The ‘CG’ stands
for the biggest-armed, biggest-hitting,
biggest-name big man in cricket:
Christopher Gayle. And this one isn’t far
off the colossal weapon he actually uses.
Epically heavy – at 2lb 14.5oz – it’s also got
a stupid, almost upsetting amount of meat
right at the bottom of the blade: overall it
looks like the majority of a tree. And it’s
not just a ludicrously chunky edge and
middle that sets it apart; this is the long
handle (LB) version, for the batsman
who’s tall as well as broad. That means the
handle and the blade have that bit of extra
length to make it really feel like a club –
built for smelting, destroying cricket balls.
Like the man it’s named after, this is vast
and domineering in every way. Even Iron
Man’s struggling with it.
Edge width: 4cm
Middle at thickest point (face to
spine): 6.2cm
tHe sHark HaMMerHead
SRP: £185
Fairly aggressively named, and built for aggressive batting.
Shark Cricket’s biggest blade is a natural killer – with a thick,
wide handle ideal for the big hands you will require if you’re to
thrive with it. A pronounced concave back almost comes to a
point – like a shark fin – with the middle higher up the blade
compared to its beastly counterparts here. That – and a bowed
shape – makes it one of the better balanced on show, and it fires
off the face beautifully. But if you’re really serious about being a
T20 biffer, that lightness and balance might even put you off
– surely the most terrifyingly oversized and impractically
weighty hunk of wood is what you’re after? Either way, this is an
impressive effort.
Edge width: 4cm
Middle at thickest point (face to spine): 5.8cm
For more de
ta il
discussion of ed
these
and other ge
ar items
ever y week,
visit
alloutcricke
t.com/gea r
36
92| AOC
| AOC| |JUNE
JUlY2013
2013
AOC || 37
93
HEADY TIMES AT HEADINGLEY
Root and Bairstow in the middle
Vaughan and Boycott on TMS
Yorkshire love-in
Greece under 17s
captain Spiros
Bogdos
The Marina
Ground, Corfu
“
UNQUOTE UNQUOTE...
Parting the crease is such sweet sorrow
William Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet)
The Espianada Ground,
where cricket was first
played in 1823
Are you a budding
sports writer? A cricket
enthusiast? Or even
just in need of a good
day out?
‘HELLAS’ UNEARTHED AS
CRICKETING OUTPOST
In Corfu, scene of the 3rd International Schools Cricket Tournament,
the game is emerging as a viable sport for locals, and an appealing
destination for touring teams. Tim Brooks visited the island to catch the
tournament in full swing.
A HUDDLE OF CRICKETERS GATHER AT MID
wicket, listening intently to their captain’s
rousing words. When two Pakistanshirted openers stride to the middle the
huddle disbands with a cry of ‘Hellas’. Not
‘Hallas’, the Arabic term for ‘god willing’,
but the classical term for Greece, a country
where cricket has taken a foothold in an
island fortress.
This is Corfu and the fielding team are the
cream of Greek cricketing colts. And the
batsmen are from Athens not Ahmedabad.
It is a bizarre but beguiling spectacle. As
the strike bowler paces out his run the eye is
drawn to a sea of masts in the marina
behind and the green-fringed mountains
that mark the Aegean horizon. It is a
jaw-droppingly beautiful picture, save for
two seemingly abandoned caravans that
flank the sightscreen.
The match is an early encounter in the 3rd
International Schools tournament, an
annual event now established as the
centrepiece of the island’s sporting
calendar. Teams from the UK, South Africa,
India and Bulgaria play on other grounds
but this has the intensity of a local derby.
Corfiots are a rare example of a European
culture steeped in cricketing heritage,
while the team from Athens represents a
more typical formation of a continental
European team, made up of economic
migrants from the subcontinent.
The ground is on a 50-year lease to the
Hellenic Cricket Federation from a past
100
| AOC
| JULY
2013
38
| AOC
| JUNE
2013
mayor who, like many others on the island,
sees cricket as a positive influence on youth.
There are furrows at deep backward square
and the artificial strip looks a little
beleaguered and weather weary. There is a
chandlery close by but facilities don’t
stretch to a changing room. Still, this
modest, picturesque ground has become the
focal point for cricket in the region, hosting
Balkan tournaments one week and rotund
English village teams the next.
As with many cricketing outposts it has a
British link, the Navy stopping here in 1823
for a game in the town square surrounded by
the Venetian architectural splendour of
their imperial forebears. The Corfiots were
intrigued, and inspired to form a team of
their own. In time a local league developed
and in due course the Hellenic Cricket
Federation was formed and a cricketing
nation was born.
A few years ago the federation were seeking
an opportunity to develop their own
cricketing culture while showcasing the
island as a cricket tourism destination. Their
solution was ingenious: a schools tournament
drawing teams from across the world, the
only one of its kind in the western
hemisphere. The objectives: to develop bonds
between cricketers of different cultures,
instill and celebrate the spirit of cricket, boost
participation levels in Greece and promote
the island as a cricketing destination.
The event doubles as a tournament and a
cultural exchange. Teams are twinned
Entry is not selective and the
federation looks to balance
competitive sides with
development opportunities for
neighbours such as Bulgaria; this
results in some mismatches – the
Bulgarian boys made several
totals below 20
with local primary schools who cheer
them in their games and teach them local
traditions and songs. They leave with
friends, memories and cultural
awareness and the boys and girls left
behind are inspired to take up the game. It
is an excellent concept, charmingly
delivered.
The local press cover the games and the
fi nal stages are live streamed on web TV.
The onus is on fun and camaraderie but
development objectives are met as well,
pleasing the ICC Europe development
office, which is seeking to raise the profi le
of cricket on the continent.
CRICKET IN GREECE HAS A LOT TO OFFER .
Historic pedigree, picturesque grounds,
warm weather in the months preceding
and following the English season, and the
culture and warm hospitality of a popular
holiday destination. English clubs looking
for team bonding and practice in sunny
climes within easyJet range have tended
to head to La Manga in southern Spain,
which boasts facilities fit to host English
county sides. Corfu has not yet attracted
the investment to ensure that but it can
boast more spectacular scenery and a
richer cultural heritage. Several clubs are
due to tour this summer. Nic Pothas, the
Hampshire and South Africa stalwart,
represented them at a recent tournament,
grabbing a few headlines in the process.
Word is spreading.
Entry is not selective and the federation looks to balance
competitive sides with development opportunities for
neighbours such as Bulgaria. This results in some
mismatches. The Bulgarian boys, for instance, made several
totals below 20. But their presence is welcomed and by the
end of the week they were seeking advice and tips from their
more experienced adversaries. The winners were the
Johannesburg Cricket Club, an inner city team fed by
several schools serving poor and disadvantaged
communities. Their trip had been funded by a sponsorship
drive run by a local radio station.
Cricket has not been immune to Greece’s fi nancial crisis.
The government grant has been slashed by 90 per cent
making it difficult for the federation to invest in much
needed facilities such as new nets, a dedicated indoor
cricket facility and courses for coaches. Part of the week is
spent meeting political patrons including the governor of
the island and the mayor of Corfu town. The governor, a
former international basketball player, laments that he
can’t do more but recognises cricket’s role in extending the
tourist season. Fresh from a meeting with Russian
investors he has asked the president to invite a Russian
team next year.
In late May, Corfu will host a Balkan championships
featuring Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia and
Slovenia. They are playing an important role in nurturing
cricket in the region. In parallel to hosting tournaments
they are also one of the European pilots of Street20, a quick,
simple ‘play anywhere’ format that they are introducing
into schools. A programme in Thessaloniki is part of an
ambitious plan to introduce cricket to the mainland. The
Athens teams prove there are pockets of expat cricket in the
cities, but it has yet to capture the imagination of local
populations.
If schools cricket can serve as a catalyst, then the game
could have a bright future in an unexpected, exotic
corner of Europe.
Tim Brooks is an expert on non-Test playing nations and
can be found @cricketatlas
FREE!
CALLING ALL
SUBSCRIBERS!!!
Our buddies at Kingfisher are looking for one lucky cricket fan to
act as a ‘brand ambassador’ for the first day of the 2013 Ashes series.
The lucky winner, and an even luckier friend, will be off to Trent
Bridge Test on Wednesday July 10, and will be plied with all
manner of Kingfisher goodies (including a good few bottles of the
beer itself, naturally!).
All Kingfisher ask in return is that, in your capacity as
brand ambassador, you report on your day – from the
moment you wake up, to your arrival at the ground, to
the beers and curry you’ll be treated to at the end of the
day. We’ll confirm the final details with the winner, but
this can be done via Twitter, Facebook or as an editorial.
James Smith was Kingfisher’s first brand
ambassador of the summer at the England v
New Zealand Test at Lord’s on May 16, and kept
Kingfisher and AOC Twitter up-to-date with
the day’s play. James verdict on his VIP day at
HQ? “Perfect cricketers day out, wish I could
be a Kingfisher ambassador every day!”
All you need to do to enter the latest brand ambassador
competition is tweet the answer to the following question:
Where will the first match of the 2013/14
Ashes be played?
A The Gabba
B Melbourne Cricket Ground
C Adelaide Oval
Please tweet your answer in the following format:
I want to be a @KingfisherBeer brand ambassador on
July 10. Answer = [A, B OR C] @AllOutCricket competition
#BetterTogether
The closing date for the competition is June 25 and the winner will be
notified by June 28. To enter this competition you must be: 18 years old or
over at time of entry, a UK resident and be able to travel on July 10, 2013.
Normal All Out Cricket competition rules also apply. For more information
check out www.kingfisherbeer.co.uk
Join AOC Extra and get more out of your subscription
Lovingly created by AOC to give our loyal readers the chance
to win great prizes all year long – including bags full of kit,
international match tickets and all kinds
of other goodies.
AOC || 101
39
|| AOC
www.alloutcricket.com/aocextra
SUBSCRIBE
LET BATTLE COMMENCE
SUBSCRIBE TO AOC NOW AND MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERY ISSUE OF OUR
GREAT ASHES COVERAGE, WITH EXCLUSIVE NEWS AND VIEWS FROM
INSIDE THE DRESSING ROOM. OR YOU CAN BUY A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION FOR
A FRIEND – WE DELIVER ALMOST ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD THESE DAYS!
UK PRICES:
£34.15 FOR 12 ISSUES
£17.85 FOR 6 ISSUES
EUROPE PRICES:
SAVE UP TO
£60 FOR 12 ISSUES
£33 FOR 6 ISSUES
50%
AUSTRALIA/REST OF
THE WORLD PRICES:
£72 FOR 12 ISSUES
£40 FOR 6 ISSUES
BUY DIRECT FROM US AND GET THE BEST PRICE, WITH FREE POSTAGE AND NO COMMISSIONS PAID TO MIDDLE-MEN
CALL THE ORDER HOTLINE NOW
0844 322 1229
Quote offer code: BESTPRICE
40
2013
88 | AOC | JUNE
MAY 2013
ORDER ONLINE AT:
alloutcricket.subscribeonline.co.uk
Remember to enter the code: BESTPRICE
YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU
ENLIST NOW
SUBSCRIBE
TO AOC
SIGN UP TO
AOC EXTRA
alloutcricket.
subscribeonline.
co.uk
alloutcricket.com/
aocextra
FOLLOW
AOC EXTRA
ON TWITTER
@aocextra
AOC| |89
41
WATCH FOR FREE!
42 | AOC | JUNE 2013

here

Transcription

Similar documents

to the Dover Titans winners of the Co

Coaching Course Online Registration Process 2016

Cricket Strokes process flow

The Haberdashers` Aske`s Boys` School

Ten Sports renews Windies cricket rights for 7 yrs

Task Force Heroes at Feethams!

June - TEAM Security

Exercise 9: Mix-and

Edgbaston Cricket Ground Case Study