This summer All Out Cricket teamed up with ASICS to find the country’s next fast-bowling sensation, culminating in a battle to be crowned ASICS Speed Menace at the Indoor Cricket School at Lord’s on September 13.
With ASICS ambassador Michael Vaughan on hand at the Home of Cricket to give the young nasty fasties some tips, Jo Harman took the opportunity to grill the former England skipper with some questions from AOC readers.
Do you think day/night Tests would be a good for the game and would you have wanted to play in them? David Whalley, via Facebook
No, I just don’t see how you’re going to watch more cricket at night with a pink ball under lights if the product’s crap. The product needs to be right, with the good teams playing each other more often and players having a better schedule in terms of making sure they’re rested. That will allow the fast bowlers to bowl fast for longer. Rather than trying to mess around with the best format of the game, make sure the product is good and that players have enough time to make sure they’re in good shape going into a big series. I don’t like driving to the ground knowing who’s going to win before the game. It’s nothing dodgy, but there are just too many mismatches. England play Sri Lanka in England, we know England are going to win; England play Bangladesh, England are going to win. Clear out those mismatches and make sure the product is better.
Tendulkar or Lara? David Bullimore, via Facebook
Tendulkar’s not had a great tour this summer but I think I’d probably go with him in terms of what he’s had to put up with. It’s been so difficult for him to live up to the expectation levels. But Lara on the eye – if it’s a one off innings you’d want Lara just smacking it around.
Do you regret not lasting until the end of the innings in the NatWest Secret Cricketer? Martin Dilleigh, via Facebook
No, I’d have been boiling! It was good fun though.
If your knee had allowed it, would you have liked to carry on playing county cricket for Yorkshire after retiring from international cricket? Edward Gawne, via Twitter
If my knee had allowed it, I would have been still playing for England. Not now, but I’d have played for England for a little bit longer and then probably called it a day. I love the game but you just get yourself in a position that once your England days are gone…Yorkshire have that many young players that I wouldn’t want to fill a place where I feel that a young player should have been playing. That’s why I moved on, because there were so many young players in the set-up.
Which were the best and worst opposition dressing rooms to go into after a game and who did you look forward to sharing a pint with? Simon Lance, via email
We didn’t really do much of that. We had a laugh with South Africa one time but them and Australia were the only two teams we mixed with really.
What was your most memorable knock? Cassia Weaver, via Facebook
I think the 183 in Sydney was one of my best. We were 4-0 down playing that great side and nobody gave us a hope of winning a game in Australia that year.
Would the Ashes winning side of 2005 be topping the world rankings now? Andy Davis, via Twitter
Yes, definitely. I think the side that Nasser captained that won in Pakistan and Sri Lanka would have done as well, with Gough and Caddick.
You were known as a captain who managed to get the best out of his players but were there any ‘lost talents’ that got away? Helen Bailey, via email
No, not really. There are guys that you just don’t fancy; you give them a chance but for whatever reason at the start you just don’t know if they’re going to cut it. It’s partly attitude and a bit about their game, but most of it’s mental and you can see it in their mindset. There are a lot of easy games at the minute but the skill in a selector, coach and captain is picking out the traits and the skill levels that are required under pressure and identify those players who you know will withstand an Ashes series or a World Cup, not the easy games against Bangladesh or Sri Lanka at home. It’s all about who can withstand the real big series and there’s a skill in knowing which players can and which players can’t.
To see what speeds our 10 quicks clocked in at in the ASICS Speed Menace at Lord’s, pick up a copy of the November issue of All Out Cricket magazine, in shops on October 6.
