TROPHIES THE MOTIVATION FOR VOGES
WINNING trophies with Middlesex is all the motivation Adam Voges needs after his international career with Australia.
The 37-year-old retired from Test cricket this year after representing his country 20 times, averaging 61.87.
Then he called time on domestic cricket in his homeland at the end of the 2016-17 Sheffield Shield campaign.
Many a player has struggled with the relatively humdrum life of every day cricket after leaving the Test arena but Voges is happy to focus on county duties.
The Aussie, free from the burden of having to impress national selectors, can concentrate on helping the reigning champions defend their Specsavers County Championship title while nurturing burgeoning talent at the club.
“I think if I was playing at home in Australia, [motivation] would be an issue but I’m not trying to play international cricket through playing for Middlesex,” said Voges. “I’m playing here to try and help the guys win things and hopefully to play well enough to get us into a position to do that.
“Hopefully I can put some good performances on the park and help some of these young kids coming through.
“I think guys like Stevie Eskinazi and Nick Gubbins are really developing nicely at the moment, so if I can help them along the way then I’ll look to do that as well.”
One thing the tenants of Lord’s won’t be winning is the Royal London Cup.
Four defeats in their first seven games, the latest a seven-wicket drubbing at the hands of Essex on Friday – as the Seaxes were bowled out for 148 at Chelmsford – mean they are out of contention before today’s final match with Somerset at Lord’s.
Angus Fraser’s men are yet to make the knockout stage in the four years since the competition’s inception.
Batting failures have been at the heart of Middlesex’s underperformance, something from which a candid Voges refused to shy away. And with the Championship defence due to resume on Friday against Surrey, Voges says it is important to win the dead rubber with Somerset, both for morale and momentum.
“I’m frustrated with how I have been getting to 40 and then getting out,” he added. “I’ve got to 40 three times now and only got to 50 once.
“I’m finding different ways to get out when I need to bat a bit deeper into our innings to give guys like [James] Franklin, [Ryan] Higgins and [Toby] Roland-Jones more licence at the end, rather than coming in earlier to resurrect things because the top four haven’t done their job.
“Our batting has not been great the last few games and we can certainly be a lot better at it.
“Winning games of cricket is a habit and it is a good habit to get into, regardless of the format of the game you are playing.”