Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2012

40 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society that the ball would swing and seam much more than SE11 it was a challenge I was ready for and the thought of fielding less at my age was very appealing! Having had three months gardening leave at the Oval it felt good to be heading up the M1 for a new start. Gone was the security of the place I had resided at for 21 years and fresh challenges lay ahead. My first meeting at Trent Bridge was followed by a guided tour of the local area and onto ROKO gym to meet Kevin Paxton our Strength and Conditioning coach who gave me the most comical introduction to the equipment as if I’d never seen a gym in my life! So if this was a date it was speed dating, I’d seen the area I would live in, the gym I would use a lot more than Kevin thought I would and started to meet the players that I was going to spend the next three years with. I was surprised how quickly I felt at home at Trent Bridge. I was desperate for a performance to prove to my new team mates that I had plenty to give. I’d already finished 3rd in the fitness tests to keep ‘Kevlar’ quiet and I was keen to put a smile on Mick Newell’s face which is hard to do at the best of times I can tell you. Thankfully a couple of match winnings 60’s came my way against Somerset and I felt I’d arrived at my new club. Life in Nottingham was very enjoyable and the vibe in the club was a special one. International players came in and out of the team at various times during the year and apart from their curly perms, model looks or long chins, through sheer arrogance alone you couldn’t tell an international from a debutant. Second place in division one was a huge improvement on the winless relegation I had endured at Surrey, albeit mainly from the garden, and we were beaten by a very good Durham side who to be perfectly fair bullied us as they went on to claim the title in 2009. 2010 proved to be a totally different affair. Four consecutive wins at the start of the year proved to everyone that we were a danger to all and our innings defeat of Durham at Trent Bridge put down a marker for the season, plus the addition off the ‘best bearded player I’ve ever played with’ in Hashim Amla was a major boost. Come September in Manchester and the fact that we were going off because it was too sunny and you felt that fate had dealt us a bad card. Alas the weather did us a favour and allowed us a full days play and a memorable finish to claim my final pennant at the age of 40! I will look back on my time at Trent Bridge with many fond memories. Playing in a side in which I could have fathered about half of them gave me a different perspective on life and the amount of age gags that I had in that period probably outweighed the runs that I scored, but I’ve always been of the belief that if people aren’t talking about you then they’re not interested so really I appreciated the humour! I shall look back on my career with a fair degree of satisfaction. I’m very lucky to have played for two outstanding teams and to have graced the squares of the Oval and Trent Bridge has been an honour. When you finish your career it’s the trophies and friendships that you have won that you will treasure and I’m also very fortunate to leave with a couple of markers in the sand. Thankfully the only ‘nicking’ that I saw over the last few years was on the field and not at the station and was generally when Samit played a loose shot outside off stump!