‘JUST HAVE A SWING AT A BALL OR I’LL BRING BACK THE BIG GUNS AND THEY WILL KNOCK YOUR HEAD OFF..’
I’M going to reflect on a couple of memorable representative matches I played in this week - back in the 1990s.
I was lucky enough to be selected to play for the Minor Counties against Australia in 1997 and South Africa the following year. And they were experiences which I will never forget.
IT was a bit surreal to get a call - and then a letter - in 1997 to say I had been selected to play for the Minor Counties against the touring Aussies at Jesmond. I’d played just over a year of Minor Counties cricket. In 1996 I’d done ok and in the early part of ‘97 I was going reasonably well, but due to other commitments I hadn’t played a huge amount.
So to get picked to play in the north east was amazing, perhaps there was a lot of unavailable players, who knows?
Now for people who don’t know Jesmond, it’s a tiny ground, flat wicket, but a lovely place to play cricket.
The nightlife isn’t so bad either. I’d been up there on a northern tour with Staffs - playing Northumberland and Cumberland - in 1996, so knew my way around. But let’s focus on the cricket.
I’d been released by Derbyshire earlier in my career and this match was a great experience for me because you never think something like that is going to come around.
It was in the days where Ashes tours were longer and there was more cricket in between the Tests, and the tourists were obliged to play a Minor Counties representative team.
It was a blazing hot day, there was a big crowd, but the match was played in the right spirit - it almost had a benefit match feel to it. The Aussies were in between Tests, but fielded a strong side, with Steve Waugh as skipper, Justin Langer, Michael Bevan, Greg Blewett, Michael Slater and a trio of fine bowlers in Paul Reiffel, Michael Kasprowicz and Brendon Julian.
The great Shane Warne was in the touring squad but didn’t play in the fixture, although he was part of the day.
The Aussies got 290, with Julian playing as a batsman - blazing 106. His second 50 came off something silly like 16 balls. We battled gamely and fell nine runs short, but at the end it was the part-time bowlers turning their arm over.
We had a decent, if young, attack, with the legendary Marcus Sharp, Lincolnshire’s Simon Oakes, myself, Jon Fielding and Simon Myles.
I knew a fair few of the lads, and in Oakes we had the quickest thing on the minor counties circuit at the time.
Slater started whoosing at things from the word go, while Langer was more circumspect - and was dismissed by yours truly coming on first change.
I was decent against left-handers because my wrist position was wrong and I pushed the ball across them.
He attempted to drive one which wasn’t quite there and got a big nick through to my Staffordshire team-mate Mark Humphries.
Late on, Darren Berry - the Aussies’ reserve keeper - then had a massive slog at one and was bowled to give me my second wicket.
I can vividly recall Sharpy bowling his 10 overs straight through for 29 and then giving me a big grin when he finished and saying ‘I’ve finished my lot, now just 30 overs of chasing leather’.