GRAEME HICK EXCLUSIVE
THE past is a foreign country to Graeme Hick.
He was born and raised in Zimbabwe and he played 65 Test matches and in a World Cup final for England.
He doesn’t look back, though – not in anger, regret or sentimental nostalgia about all the runs he scored and the incredible tally of 136 first-class centuries.
He prefers the challenge nge ahead.
Hick is now the batting coach of the Australian Test side and his focus is on helping them win the
Ashes series.
There is even some typiypical Aussie bravado as he reveals their batsmen are desperately hoping that Jofra Archer, England’s new fast bowling sensation and World Cup hero, will play in the Ashes.
“Bring on Archer” is the cry. “When you talk to the chaps, they want to play against the best players the opposition have,” said Hick (above), who has so impressed the Aussies that he is also now head coach of their A team.
“They will be happy Archer is playing. They want that challenge and don’t look at the other side and think, ‘Uh, thank God he’s not playing’.
“Quite a few of them have played against Archer in the Big Bash. They know what he’s like, what he can produce, what he’s like as a character.
“Yes, he performed amazingly in the th World Cup, but the Te Test arena is a very d different place. He is a high-quality bowler, but it will be his first Test match.
“He is still inexperien enced and raw. He may end u up having a great Test series or he may not. What I do know is that it just adds to the all the excitement”
Hick is 53 now, a cricket veteran, but still full of enthusiasm and insight for the game. He was entranced like the rest of us by the World Cup final.
“I watched the last eight overs and then the Super Over,” he said. “It was amazing, but I didn’t think about our final with Pakistan back in 1992.
“I remember in that match we were skittled early, rolled over by Wasim Akram, so it never got to that stage where it went down to the wire. It feels a long time ago.
“In this final, you look at the little mistakes along the way and the decision- making by the umpires. It all adds to the drama.
“I think the Ashes will be close this time – and I think the first session of the first Test will be a massive part of what happens. Momentum can be so important in cricket.”
That game starts at Edgbaston on Thursday, the venue where England beat Australia in the semi-final of the World Cup.
“I don’t think what happened in the World Cup will have an impact on the Ashes,” said Hick.
“It should be a close series. I’d be very surprised if it was a 4-0 or 5-0, either way.
“It looks as if the teams are pretty evenly matched and, when that’s the case, it comes down to a few crucial moments in each Test match.
“Experience certainly helps in winning those tight moments.”