Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BROWN’S NUMBERS COME IN
I could have been an accountant, but now I’m playing for England
IN the crash, bang, wallop world of Twenty20 cricket, it helps if you have a head for figures.
Which is why Pat Brown could be just the man England need as they try to build a team capable of making it a 50-over and 20-over World Cup double in Australia next winter.
The Worcestershire seamer could make his England debut against New Zealand in the opening T20 of their five-match series in Christchurch on Friday.
If he does, it will crown a remarkable rise for a cricketer who was first spotted at an open day after slipping through the net as a junior.
But, if things don’t work in cricket, he won’t be short of career options elsewhere.
“This beats accountancy,” said Brown, with a smile.
“I’ve got a degree in business management, but I’m not too sure what I would have done if I hadn’t made it as a cricketer.
“I’d have probably gone down that accountancy route, which would have been pretty boring in comparison. It [a career in professional cricket] looked unlikely. When I was going to trial days, being a professional cricketer wasn’t my dream. It wasn’t the be-all and end-all.
“I was just trying to be the best player I could be.
“If that was enough to be a pro, then great. If not, I wasn’t going to lose sleep about it because, at times, it seemed a long way off.”
After being picked up by Worcestershire in his late teens at a Pace Factor competition – a sort of X Factor for fast bowlers – the 21-year-old has been on a fast-track to T20 stardom.
Superb performances at successive Finals Days for Worcestershire have propelled him into England’s plans as they look to add a global T20 crown to the 50-over World Cup they won at Lords this summer.
Brown’s mix of slower balls and cutters have bamboozled batsmen in domestic cricket. And now he wants to do something similar against the Kiwis.
One thing is for sure – he won’t be fazed by the challenge, regardless of who is ready to take him on at the other end.
“It has been a pretty mad three years,” he admitted. “I was pretty calm and chilled out about it until I got my playing kit delivered.
“I saw my name on the back of my shirt, with the Three Lions on the front.
“That’s when it hit me – ‘Oh my god, I’m going on an England tour!’ I love getting into the competitive battle.
“I love it when someone is coming all guns blazing for me – and me letting them know that I’m coming for them too.
“Bowling at the death isn’t always a pleasant experience, but I’ve got the kind of character that can cope with that pressure – it brings the best out of me.”
After thinking his chance had passed him by, Brown is clearly keen on making up for lost time.