Having talked us through what it’s like to play for the Unicorns, in part two of Walking With Unicorns Robin Lett talks to the ECB outfit’s biggest success story to date.
For evidence of the success and effectiveness of the Unicorns, you only have to look at the numbers. Five players have already caused enough of an impact to have been signed by professional counties and performed credibly after the step up. The likes of Ed Young, Tom Craddock, Neil Saker and Mike O’Shea are glowing examples of this, but the greatest success story of the Unicorns’ short history is without a doubt Wes Durston.
Despite starring in the inaugural Champions League for Somerset at the end of the 2009 season, Durston found himself on the scrapheap after he was released by the Cidermen. “I remember shortly after I was released I read an article on the ECB website about an amateur team being involved in the Pro40 tournament for the following season,” recalls Durston. “It didn’t have a name at that point and I didn’t know a lot about it apart from the fact that Phil Oliver was set to be coach.”
Word quickly spread about this as yet unnamed side and soon after, in December 2009, the first trials were held. “It was all organised fantastically well. We trained regularly at Edgbaston as we led up to the season. The hardest thing for the coaches was trying to whittle down the extraordinary number of people that wanted to play into a team. Once they had done that, it became a lot easier to focus on the job.”
Having impressed in the opening four games of the tournament, Durston was already on Derbyshire’s radar. Having scored a half-century against Sussex at Hove as well as useful contributions elsewhere, he travelled to Arundel for the return game with the Sharks on what would turn out to be a life-changing Sunday afternoon.
On a baking hot day, the Unicorns had chased leather for 40 overs, as Sussex amassed a mammoth 325-4. “We got into the dressing room after their innings and were just trying to absorb what had just happened,” says Durston. “I checked my phone and saw I had a missed call from Steffan Jones. He said in his voicemail that John Morris (then director of cricket at Derbyshire) was going to offer me a Twenty20 contract for the next couple of months.”
Durston then went out and played the innings of his life, smashing the Sussex attack to all parts en-route to a stunning 68-ball 117. “Getting that phone call took a bit of the weight off my shoulders. I was desperate to get a new contract and hearing that news allowed me to loosen up a bit and have a go. I can’t really tell you what happened in that hour because it was all just a blur. It was just one of those days when everything went right for me but that innings gave me the confidence to hit the ground running at Derby.”
And hit the ground running he did. After a Twenty20 campaign that included a sensational hundred at Trent Bridge, Durston was offered a two-year contact with the county and the 31-year-old has made the most of his second chance, leading Derbyshire’s runscorer’s list by a distance in 2011. As a result, Durston has been rewarded with a contract extension to the end of the 2013 season providing proof indeed of the telling contribution that the Unicorns have made in their two years of existence.
Click here to read Robin Lett’s thoughts on the future of the Unicorns in part three of Walking With Unicorns.
Walking With Unicorns: Wes Durston Interview
Having talked us through what it’s like to play for the Unicorns, in part two of Walking With Unicorns Robin Lett talks to the ECB outfit’s biggest success story to date.
For evidence of the success and effectiveness of the Unicorns, you only have to look at the numbers. Five players have already caused enough of an impact to have been signed by professional counties and performed credibly after the step up. The likes of Ed Young, Tom Craddock, Neil Saker and Mike O’Shea are glowing examples of this, but the greatest success story of the Unicorns’ short history is without a doubt Wes Durston.
Despite starring in the inaugural Champions League for Somerset at the end of the 2009 season, Durston found himself on the scrapheap after he was released by the Cidermen. “I remember shortly after I was released I read an article on the ECB website about an amateur team being involved in the Pro40 tournament for the following season,” recalls Durston. “It didn’t have a name at that point and I didn’t know a lot about it apart from the fact that Phil Oliver was set to be coach.”
Word quickly spread about this as yet unnamed side and soon after, in December 2009, the first trials were held. “It was all organised fantastically well. We trained regularly at Edgbaston as we led up to the season. The hardest thing for the coaches was trying to whittle down the extraordinary number of people that wanted to play into a team. Once they had done that, it became a lot easier to focus on the job.”
Having impressed in the opening four games of the tournament, Durston was already on Derbyshire’s radar. Having scored a half-century against Sussex at Hove as well as useful contributions elsewhere, he travelled to Arundel for the return game with the Sharks on what would turn out to be a life-changing Sunday afternoon.
On a baking hot day, the Unicorns had chased leather for 40 overs, as Sussex amassed a mammoth 325-4. “We got into the dressing room after their innings and were just trying to absorb what had just happened,” says Durston. “I checked my phone and saw I had a missed call from Steffan Jones. He said in his voicemail that John Morris (then director of cricket at Derbyshire) was going to offer me a Twenty20 contract for the next couple of months.”
Durston then went out and played the innings of his life, smashing the Sussex attack to all parts en-route to a stunning 68-ball 117. “Getting that phone call took a bit of the weight off my shoulders. I was desperate to get a new contract and hearing that news allowed me to loosen up a bit and have a go. I can’t really tell you what happened in that hour because it was all just a blur. It was just one of those days when everything went right for me but that innings gave me the confidence to hit the ground running at Derby.”
And hit the ground running he did. After a Twenty20 campaign that included a sensational hundred at Trent Bridge, Durston was offered a two-year contact with the county and the 31-year-old has made the most of his second chance, leading Derbyshire’s runscorer’s list by a distance in 2011. As a result, Durston has been rewarded with a contract extension to the end of the 2013 season providing proof indeed of the telling contribution that the Unicorns have made in their two years of existence.
Click here to read Robin Lett’s thoughts on the future of the Unicorns in part three of Walking With Unicorns.