I’m holding my own up against the world’s best
GreeTInGS from India for the first of my columns for Sportsmail as I give you an insight into the carnival that is the Indian Premier League! hopefully I can give you a taste of what it’s like playing and living with the best cricketers in the world.
FIRST a catch-up on my movements over the winter, culminating in the IPL auction in february. I was fortunate over the space of four months to bounce around the world playing in various T20 leagues, with my journey starting in Bangladesh and finishing in Dubai with stops in new Zealand, Australia and India along the way.
To be honest, with my history of injuries, I was happy just to make it to the end unscathed but I was also very pleased with how I performed, particularly in the T20 series for england in India which I knew was the ideal shop window before the IPL auction. What happened there changed my life! I DIDN’T know what to expect from the IPL but was pleasantly surprised with how relaxed and calm our preparation was in the lead-up to our first match in hyderabad. our coach here at royal Challengers Bangalore, Dan Vettori, was also in charge at Brisbane heat, where I played in the Big Bash, so I had a good idea of how he liked to run his teams and everything was done in a clinical manner. no training for the sake of it, get your stuff done and go home. Simple. The big day arrived for our opening fixture against my good mate Chris Jordan and the Sunrisers, last year’s champions, but I was told by the coach I wasn’t selected and would be running drinks, which disappointed me. I had a chat with Sky Sports along with CJ (Jordan) and we told Mark Butcher neither of us were playing which definitely put a dampener on his pre-match interviews! I FINISHED up with Butch and just as I was heading into the dressing room Vettori called me over and told me that Sam Badree had injured himself in the warm-up, we had won the toss and I’m bowling the first over of the tournament in 30 minutes. Bit of a change of fortunes. NOW I have found myself involved in every game so far and have been pleased with how I’ve performed. There is no hiding place out here, as every team is stacked with the best talent in the world so it’s a real test of your skill and consistency and I definitely feel like I am learning a lot but holding my own nicely.
I haven’t changed too much of what I have been doing for england and in the other competitions but am definitely thinking a lot more about the game as you have to be so switched on. IT’S been pretty cool to rub shoulders and be around some of the big names and personalities in our team, such as Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers to name but three. Unfortunately Virat has been injured to date and AB missed the first two but made up for lost time playing one of the better innings you are likely to see, against Kings XI Punjab.
All three are very different, but great characters to have in and around the dressing room and are always there to speak to guys either at training or have a drink with away from cricket. I certainly look forward to more of this as the competition goes on. We Are looked after very well here as the IPL moves around this vast country. The hotels, as you would expect, are excellent and the food is outstanding on every stop. There is, of course, down-time but little opportunity to see much of India with so many people interested in you wherever you go. So we all turn to music and box sets to fill the time and I have three TV series on the go at the moment in the form of The Walking Dead, How To Get Away With Murder and
the new Prison Break. I like my crime dramas! As for sounds, accompanying me around the subcontinent is Drake and his new album. Can’t go wrong! In The matches I’ve played so far the atmosphere and noise have been at a differ- ent level from anything I have experienced before.
I really can’t compare it to anything, as in football at home you always get your quiet periods of the game where the crowd is pretty subdued but T20 cricket in India is relentless noise for three hours.
The people are just fanatical. We lost that first match but bounced back well in the second at home against Sam Billings and Delhi before losing again to Kings XI. So it’s been an up and down start but there’s all to play for.
I WOULD like to use this opportunity to promote the Matt Hobden Trust which was set up in memory of my Sussex team-mate who passed away last year. You can find information on the work the trust do @matthobdentrust. Until next time. T.