Was being a professional cricketer something you’d always dreamed of as a child and is it like you thought it would be?

 

It’s something I’d always wanted to be yes. I didn’t realise how much of an opportunity I had until I was 17 or 18 when I came away to university and started to get into the Academy and things got a bit more serious. It was only then that I realised I had an opportunity for it to go somewhere. As a youngster you’ve always got to expect to be one of the best players in your school or club team, but when you start to play in the Academy where you’ve got all of the best youngsters in Yorkshire it does become a bit harder. You start to wonder if you are one of the best there. In each age group you get 2 or 3 who make it at senior level so you always look around you. All you can really do is back your own ability and if you believe you’ve got something to offer then go with that and give it your all.

 

So it was at the Academy that you realised you were no longer a big fish in a small pond?

 

When I was 16 or 17 we used to come in during pre-season and in the holidays and bowl at the senior players. That’s when you start to realise as you see some of the senior bowlers and we had people like Darren Gough and Chris Silverwood when I was young and you realise that’s where you need to be if you are going to make it. When you’re a young lad that seems miles away and you realise it’s a tough industry and it’s not going to be handed to you on a plate. You get treated very well at the Academy, like a young professional, but you have to keep your feet on the ground because you haven’t made it yet and there’s a long way to go.

 

I always played cricket as a young lad. A close friend of mine, Mark Robinson who used to play for Yorkshire and then moved down to Sussex, I did a lot of training with him. His wife played hockey with my Mum and he used to run most of the cricket in Hull for youngsters and I went to that from 8 or 9 years old and when I got to the Academy I used to train with Mark when he was in the last couple of years of his playing career.

 

It was my Granddad that got me into cricket. He used to go to the festival at Scarborough every year so I often went with him. I played a lot over in Hull and then started getting involved in the Yorkshire setup. You are quite isolated over in Hull – people don’t go there unless they have a reason. I used to play for Hull Cricket Club and we quite often travelled over to West Yorkshire for games. We were quite strong in the Hull area but there wasn’t a great deal of opposition there so to press ourselves against good cricketers we had to come to West Yorkshire.

 

Who were your heroes that you wanted to be like as a player?

 

My role model’s always been Glen McGrath. He’s always someone I’ve aspired to be like and be as successful as (laughs) although I can’t see that happening. If I could do half of what he’s done it would be unbelievable. It’s important to model yourself on someone you are similar to. There’d be no point in me modelling myself on Brett Lee because I don’t bowl like him. I’m more of a McGrath style bowler in the sense that I’m quite accurate and not of great pace, but I feel I’ve got a few similar qualities and that’s why I aspire to be like him.

 

Do you concentrate on the accuracy and economy rather than pace?

 

I do because I feel it’s important at whatever level you play at not to give any freebies away and make the batsman work for what they do and that’s why accuracy is more important than anything really. I spoke to Matthew Hoggard yesterday and he said these days international batsmen these days prefer to face someone who bowls at 90mph who doesn’t do a lot with the ball than someone bowling at 80 who is swinging it. If somebody swings the ball you can never be fully confident of what you are going to do because you’re not in so much control. Pace isn’t so much of an issue as long as you have the accuracy and control.

 

And that’s what Hoggy’s done really isn’t it?

 

Yeah he has because as a youngster he was quite quick. I wouldn’t say he’s slow now but he’s concentrated more on his swing in the last few years than his pace and he’s now one of the top bowlers in the world with nearly 250 Test wickets and you can’t argue with that.

 

How did you think last season went for you?

 

It was a mixed season really. I was very pleased with the progress I made as far as appearances were concerned because prior to that I’d been at uni so my availability had been limited. Once I’d finished ay uni I got the last 4 or 5 games in the Pro40 last year, so in my first full season I was looking to try and improve on that and I did. I was lucky in that I got 6 or 7 one dayers and about 5 Championship games so I was pleased to get more performances. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get more wickets. I struggled particularly in Championship cricket to take wickets. It was often hard as I was bowling alongside Gillespie and Kruis and they’d bowl at the attacking end to take wickets and I was put on to hold at the other end and didn’t get the opportunity really. I found it tough to take wickets and ideally I’d have liked to have taken a few more, but I think for a first taste of Championship cricket I wasn’t too disappointed. I felt I made a contribution as I worked a lot on my batting last year and I played a part there.

 

So where is your bowling now to where you’d like to be as the finished article?

 

There is room for improvement and you should always be looking to improve. My areas for this year is to continue with my batting as that came on leaps and bounds last year and there needs to be more improvement there and on the bowling front I want to get some more pace by improving my action and to look to swing the ball a little bit more. In the past I’ve always pushed the ball in to right handers and I’ll be working pre-season on my wrist and action so I can swing the ball to take a few more wickets. If I had one downfall growing up it’s always been that I’ve lacked a bit of pace and I am conscious of that and trying to improve - as your body develops that helps and I am working on my action to add an extra few miles per hour to my bowling. There is potential to get that, but I don’t think I’ll ever be a really quick bowler.

 

I suppose that’s not something you can do overnight, you need to add the speed gradually while keeping a streamlined action?

 

Exactly, you don’t just say to a hundred metre runner go and knock a second off your time. It’s not done overnight and it’s something you’ve got to work at. If you saw my bowling action 4 or 5 years ago and compared it to where it is now I’ve come on quite a lot. I know where I want to get to and know what I’ve got to do to get there and as long as I continually work, improve and monitor what I do I think I can get there.

 

Do you think your bowling is more suited to one day cricket at the moment?

 

At the moment yes because of my accuracy and control. If I can develop swinging the ball a bit more and get that yard of pace then I think that can then come across in Championship cricket and I’ll start to take more wickets in that. The usual trend at the club is to give players an opportunity in one day cricket and once you’ve gained some experience in that you progress into the Championship side. Last year with the fact we had some injuries I got into the Championship side before I’d played much one day cricket in the 1^st Team and it was quite a big jump. I think if I can keep working on my one day performances and learn from that it will help me develop my Championship cricket.

 

I came in at the time when we had the two leggies in the side so although I didn’t take many wickets I didn’t always bowl many overs – jason and Deon would open the bowling, I’d come on and bowl 4 or 5 overs and then they’d bring the leg-spinners on for the rest of the day. You didn’t always get the opportunity to work batsmen out or to bowl long spells. Last year was my first full season without school or university and my goal was to play 1^st Team cricket which I did and then this year I want to try and improve on that and put in some better performances.

 

How much does having Gillespie, Hoggard and Kruis in the side help you to develop as a bowler?

 

I find it brilliant. Yorkshire has a great tradition of good fast bowlers, from Gough and Silverwood through to Deon and Dizzy. They all have so much experience of playing cricket and it’s brilliant to play alongside them and spend time with them in pre-season. You can learn so much from speaking to them and watching them and their attitude towards the game and how they prepare themselves mentally. It’s very beneficial to the young lads to have players of that calibre around. We’re all good friends and they’ve got plenty of time for you. Even the young lads who they don’t really know – if someone goes up and asks them a question they have all the time in the world for you. I find that’s a common trend amongst modern cricketers – if you ask them for a bit of their time they are only too pleased to have a chat.

 

You talked about the improvement in your batting – do you see yourself as being more of an all-rounder in the future?

 

Ideally yes - I’d love to do that at some stage. As a professional cricketer the thing I’ve learnt now that I play full time is that you have no excuse for having a weak area of your game. You might not be as proficient as some of the top order batsmen, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to hold a bat and put in a performance. We have all the time in the world to work on our batting, fielding and bowling. Batting was something I felt I could improve on and I tried that last year and it paid off slightly. There’s no reason why I can’t continue to improve and maybe at some stage in the future possibly be an all-rounder, but I think one step at a time (laughs).

 

How disappointing was it to get 46 and not a fifty at Old Trafford?

 

I was disappointed although at the time I didn’t realise how good it would have been. I went in as night-watchman, which was the first time I’d done it for the 1^st Team. Dizzy was batting at number 7 so they didn’t want to use him. Prior to the 2006 season Dave Byas had said to me that maybe in 2007 I could work towards being the night-watchman. To do it halfway through last year and to do it successfully was a real boost. Craig White said ‘go out and bat as long as you can and bat ‘till lunch’ and to get out a few minutes before lunch and to have batted that long gave me a lot of confidence. I would have liked the extra 4 runs, but really having the time at the crease and facing bowlers of that calibre gave me a lot of confidence. Once you’ve done it there’s no reason why you can’t do it again and again. I found after that, although I never got a score like that again, but I got a few 15’s and 20’s and started to make more of a contribution.

 

How do you rate your chances of getting a 1^st Team place in 2007? There’s quite a lot of competition, including youngsters coming up behind you.

 

There’s always going to be competition. Part of being a professional is accepting that there is going to be a lot of competition. There are only 11 places but everyone wants to be part of it. You’ve just got to back your own ability and try and get the best out of yourself as that’s all you can do. You’ve got no control on who gets picked in the team. I remember speaking to Matthew Wood last year and he said the most important thing to remember is that as long as you are ready to play whenever you’re called upon that’s all you can do. James Lee played a Championship game last year and was only seventeen at the time so he made a lot of progress there. I trained with Oliver (Hannon-Dalby) today and he’s just put in some really good performances in South Africa on their tour so he’s coming through and developing all the time. We’ve got some really good young prospects. They need to keep on working and then they’ll get an opportunity and learn from their experiences.

 

Would you consider a season of playing one day cricket okay for you or do you see Championship cricket as something you need at this stage in your career?

 

I think if I played the season and played every one day game and didn’t play a Championship game I would be happy. Obviously having played some Championship cricket already I want to play again to improve on last years performances, but I think any exposure in the 1^st Team is good. I’ve only played a couple of handfuls of games anyway so if I could get a regular spot in the one day side that would be ideal. If I could learn from that and that would stand me in good stead to play some Championship cricket the year after then so be it. As long as I keep moving forward then that’s what I’m after.

 

Playing Championship cricket has to be your goal so how long can you stay at Yorkshire before feeling you have to look elsewhere if that doesn’t happen?

 

Ooh interesting! I don’t think you can put a time span on these things. Deon is one of our senior bowlers now, but he came over 2 years ago when he was thirty-one and got into the side. You can’t put an age limit on when you should be playing. As long as the club want me there and see me as part of their plans then I’m happy to be there. I’d like ideally to play my entire career at Yorkshire. I’m a Yorkshire lad and I want to play for my home county. If there comes a time when they don’t see me as part of their plans for the future then maybe I’d have to move on. As long as they think I can be of use to them then I’m going to fight for my place. If you look at McGrath, he’s just retired from Test cricket at 37-years-old and he’s still one of the top bowlers in the world, so if you look at it from that sense I could still have 14 or 15 years left in the game. I’ve still got a long time left so as long as I keep improving and give myself a chance that’s all I can do.

 

What do you like to do away from cricket?

 

I like all sports. I play a lot of golf and I love skiing. If I didn’t play cricket I’d quite like to go away and do a ski season somewhere. I’d like to do some more scuba diving. I like to travel really and there are so many places I want to go and see. I’ve been around the world this winter and I’d like to continue doing that at some point and learn from different cultures. I’ve got a lot of interests and although crickets a very important part of my life it’s not my life. I have a lot more interests outside the game that I want to fulfil too.

 

Time for the Simon Guy question – when I interviewed him last week I asked him for a question for you and he asks, ‘Has your around the world trip provided you with any more enlightenment in your life?’

 

(laughs) I know they are going to laugh at this. It has yes, in two different ways really. I’ve been to some of the poorest countries in the world and to see how they live and how happy and content they are considering how little they’ve got puts what we do and have into perspective. You realise how lucky you are. When we complain and get upset about such unimportant things it makes you realise that we shouldn’t worry about those at all because we’ve got good health, we live in a country where we’ve got the opportunity to do anything we want and we really shouldn’t get upset about silly little things. I’ve spent time with western people abroad and when they find out I play cricket they are so jealous and they want to have my job and it makes you realise how lucky you are. Sometimes when you’re not feeling great and you think you don’t want to do this today, experiences like that make you realise that we are lucky and shouldn’t take for granted what we have. We should make the most of being cricketers because if you don’t you are letting yourself down. It’s given me a lot more motivation for this year and has made me realise that if I don’t get the best out of myself then I’m letting myself down. I’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime here to play professional cricket with some of the greatest players that have ever lived and if I don’t make the most of that then I’ve let myself down.

 

How long were you away for and where did you go?

 

I’ve been away from 1^st October and was away for about three and a half months. Just before Christmas I was in South America and did Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. I went back to New Zealand as I played cricket there in the previous winter so I stayed with some people and spent a few weeks there. Then I went to Cambodia and Thailand in South-East Asia before coming back home. It was a fantastic experience. There’s such a contrast between the developed and under-developed countries. Cambodia and Bolivia are very poor countries and to see how people live there is such an experience and makes you realise how lucky we are.

 

So you played in New Zealand last winter?

 

Yeah for Surburban New Lynn. I was ideally going to go to South Africa, but I ran out of time and didn’t get that organised and at the last minute I sent an email to the Auckland cricket people and my club came back to me and said that they’d like me to come over ASAP. Four of five players there actually played for the Auckland first class team, the side Mal Loye played for this winter before getting called up to the England side. The competition is as tough over there, but they are really into their rugby in New Zealand and as a result the facilities are poor in comparison to ours. It’s not as hi-tech over there.

 

As a Leeds University maths graduate there are surely some better paid jobs you could go for. Why cricket?

 

(laughs). Well for a start I’ll be working until I’m fifty or sixty so if I play cricket for as long as I can I’ll still have twenty years to find a better paid job. As a cricketer I can only play while I’m young and it’s a massive opportunity which I want to take with both hands. It’s a sport where you can play with people who are your friends and it’s a chance to do something you love and you get five months off each year and what else compares with that? I’m a firm believer in you living to work and not working to live.

 

My thanks to Steve for his time. If you have any comments on this interview please enter them in the thread below.

Next week we have a double header.

 

If you would like to suggest a question for MATTHEW HOGGARD enter it HERE.

 

If you would like to ask NICK THORNICROFT a question enter it HERE.

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