Browne could be England’s missing link
Derbyshire 165 & 303 (f/o) lost to Essex 530-9d by an innings and 62 runs
ESSEXhas done England proud down the years in producing opening batsmen of the highest class and the county believe they have another who is capable of playing at the top level.
Nick Browne’s unbeaten 229 at Derby this week underlined his ability to go big and earned him a place alongside some of the most illustrious names in the history of the game.
The 25-year-old left-hander became the first batsman to score two double centuries in a season against the same team, but in different games for 94 years, joining Percy Holmes, CB Fry and WG Grace in the record books.
It was a demonstration of concentration and selectivity that another Leytonstone-born opener, Graham Gooch, would have admired and England captain and county batting partner Alastair Cook will have noted.
Should the selectors decide it is time to find another batsman to open with Cook, Browne has certainly put down a marker and his Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate feels he deserves consideration.
“Without a doubt, I don’t imagine he’s too far off at the moment. He’s got weight of runs; last year he got a thousand with a lot of big scores and this year he’s just short of a thousand.
“That’s the currency that international cricket works on – it’s purely about weight of runs and although there’s the division one, division two stigma which hangs over his head, I’ve got no doubt that he would score runs in Division One and I think his game is set-up for Test cricket as well.
“His game is mentally very strong, and he’s very hungry and he has all the tactical ability, so I can’t see why he wouldn’t do well and I don’t think he’s too far away from getting a chance.
“What I would say is this year the standard in Division Two has been noticeably better, a lot of sides have very efficient attacks and you can only score runs against what is put in front of you and to suggest a guy has to go to a diisionv one county to play Test cricket is ludicrous.
“I think another feather in his cap is how his runs have helped us push for promotion, so he’s given us a chance of getting into Division One and then he can show what he can do in that division. “He’s hungry for runs, we always joke around before the start of an innings ‘will you take 80 or 90 and he always says no’, most other batters would snap your hand off for an 80, but he has a very strong selfbelief that he’s capable of scoring big runs and when he gets in he does that. “He prides himself on scoring big hundreds and two double hundreds in a county season is a great effort and he loves what he does, he’s always working at his batting and on the technical and skill side he’s very organised and efficient, and has the right set-up to face the new ball. “Having Cookie around and seeing what we are doing, I wouldn’t say it’s an advantage in the sense he would favour an Essex player but they are very similar in their desire to score runs and I know Cookie thinks very highly of Brownie. “Also there’s the feedback he gets from Cookie, he’s such a generous guy and is always sharing his time. I know Brownie has worked closely with him and is inquisitive, and is always wanting to learn so he benefits from that as well.”