not the new Warney, whowas wizard in Oz
more for Australia but he was brilliant guiding me. What we worked on was great for me.
“There were a couple of technical tweaks but it was a lot of mental stuff, which I probably needed to be honest. At my age that was excellent for me. As the winter progressed what I was doing with Stu started to click, I started to understand it.”
As for the experience of playing Shield cricket, Crane adds: “It was really interesting. It’s very different how they have their season structured. They have a lot of time between games, preparation is really good and everything surrounding the preparation – the analysis and all those sorts of things – was absolutely excellent. But I guess they’ve got the time to do it. The intensity of the game was really good because they have those four days of hard cricket and they have a while off before their next game. I really enjoyed that experience.”
Crane’s exploits in Australia would not have gone unnoticed by Trevor Bayliss, who was New South Wales coach before he took on the England job in 2015.
Bayliss was also present, along with several selectors and assistant Paul Farbrace, for the inaugural North v South 50-over series in the UAE last month when Crane provided more evidence of his rich potential by taking 4-1 in 10 balls in the final match in Abu Dhabi to help the South seal a 3-0 whitewash.
“It was a really good idea and, hopefully, something that will get taken forward,” Crane says. “A lot of England selectors and coaches were there, which was good and it added that extra bit of pressure. It was great.”
Talk of an England call-up, though, is far from Crane’s thoughts right now as he prepares to help his county start the season well so they can make the most of their relegation reprieve.
Hampshire’s campaign begins against Yorkshire at Headingley today and Crane said: “I’ve got to try to cement a place in the first team any way I can. We have a lot of really good seamers so early season I might struggle to get a game but, hopefully, I can just keep performing and see where it takes me.”
Durham’s financial problems and subsequent demotion to Division Two of the Championship meant Hampshire remained in the top-flight despite finishing second bottom of the table.
Crane and his team-mates know they have to make the most of their good fortune.
“Nobody really knows how the season will go,” admits Crane. “It’s great to be given a second chance and it is a really big second chance. Hopefully we can start well, get on a roll and make the most of that this season.”
Stu was a phenomenal bowler in his own right and very unlucky not to play more for Australia but was brilliant for me