I must have been about 14 when I was asked to have an afternoon of coaching at Arundel as a Sussex junior member. It was one of those days I cannot recall much about these days. It was a long time ago. I remember doing some bowling and fielding practice on the outfield.
What I do remember most was facing the bowling machine. It
was the first time I had been up close to such a contraption. It fired out solid
plastic balls at what seemed an unimaginably fast pace. I tried my best, and
not being much of a batsman, it was hard work.
As I walked out of the net to take my pads off, I managed to
get a brief glimpse at speed. Indeed it must have been a fast 75 mph; I was
excited to see what I had just faced. That was when it hit me; it was only 40
mph. It bruised the ego a little; I hope I didn’t let it show.
Sussex arranged a few things like that for their junior
members. I remember an event that they organised for an England under 19 game. They
got a few players from the academy side to offer some training. I failed at the
one-handed slip catching (stupid right-hand bias!), and it was a good day. Who
were those young players that offered to coach us? One was Shaun Humphries, a
young wicketkeeper and a bowler of promise called James Kirtley. I wonder what
happened to him?
Of course, he is now
Sussex T20 coach, which does make me feel old. There aren’t many coaches out
there that exudes calmness and will to make Sussex a force in the game like when
he was in his prime.
It looks like a big task that both himself and Ian Salisbury
have ahead of them, but I feel they have that love and passion for the county
they played for.
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