In the January issue of All Out Cricket – in shops on December 1 – Middlesex’s managing director of cricket Angus Fraser speaks to Jon Waring about the club’s revival that has seen them win Division Two of the County Championship and return to the top-tier after a five-year absence.
Gus had so much to say on the subject that we couldn’t fit it all in the magazine, so we decided to give you a little taster.
You must be delighted to have taken Middlesex back into the big time?
It was always our main goal to get back in the first division and it wasn’t good enough for a club like us, with our history and tradition, to play in Division Two, so it was obviously very pleasing. It took a lot of hard work but we got there in the end and it’s a great credit to all the players and the backroom staff. Next season will be exciting because we’ll go up aiming to play as we did this year and if we do, we’ll be a match for anyone. We won’t be over-awed by any team, and I’d like for people at the big clubs like Durham, Somerset, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire to think we are a handy outfit that’s going places.
How hands-on is your role?
In my first year the squad and coaching staff were already in place, so I went in and tried to view from a distance and get a feel for what was taking place. I tried to build a good relationship with the coaching staff and players. Last year, I felt I needed to get a bit closer to everything and be more involved with what was going on. I’m there to support and direct the coaches and captain, but ultimately allow them to get on with their jobs.
How busy are you in the off-season?
The two or three weeks after the season are as busy as any because you’re trying to tie up contracts and sign new players. You go straight from putting last season to bed to preparing for the next and getting the structure in place so that everything is organised. It’s a strange job because you don’t have a summer holiday, so from March to September you’re the club’s property and you’re expected to do things almost every day of the summer if required.
Your London rivals Surrey have been keen to blood youngsters and had success as a result. Is that a model you’re looking to follow?
I think it’s a good model but in my opinion you need a blend of youth and experience. When you get a group of youngsters together it’s brilliant to watch and exciting to see them win something, but they can also go down like a pack of cards because there isn’t that experience to rely on to stop negative flow if they encounter it. The best way to blood youngsters is to bring them into a winning side, and that’s been good for Surrey.
Steven Finn has developed an extra yard of pace in recent months. Is that just down to hard work?
Pace is important but it can be over-egged because if Steven is bowling at 90mph but slinging three down the leg side then we don’t want that. I think he’s grown, he used to be a bit of a skinny retch but now he’s filling out! Some of that is natural but some of it is down to the fitness programme he has been put on by the ECB, which is working well. But a lot of it is down to confidence – confidence in his body, confidence in his bowling, arriving at the crease and being able to fully commit to the ball he is about to deliver. He’s quickly becoming the top bowler that we all know he can be.
To read the full Middlesex feature, including more from Angus Fraser and interviews with Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland-Jones, pick up a copy of All Out Cricket issue 87 – in shops on December 1.
