In the July issue of All Out Cricket, Sam Stow speaks to Alec Stewart about the 10 defining moments of his glittering career with both bat and gloves.
Reflecting on his role as a wicketkeeper, Stewie also explained that it was England and not his county who convinced him to take the gloves:
“To start with, I didn’t keep. I was a batsman. I kept more for England than in other side I played for. I didn’t keep wicket at school or anything like that. I kept when I was out in Perth – the club I played for needed a keeper and because I didn’t bowl, Surrey saw it as a way of creating another batsman-keeper, as it were, and then it went from there. I was never a regular keeper until I played for England.
“Did I enjoy keeping? Yes, but – as with anything it’s nice if you know what you’re doing, whether you’re preparing just as a batsman or a batsman-keeper. Sometimes it’s tough if you don’t keep one day and have to keep the next – the work ethic was never the problem, but it was getting my mind switched on. That was the challenge.”
To read Alec Stewart’s 10 definitive performances, and interviews with Ian Bell, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen (plus loads more) pick up the July issue of AOC.
