This week I wanted to look at England’s chances in India and give an early appraisal on their progress but being on holiday made it difficult to keep up to speed with the `goings on’ on the sub-continent
Mark Alleyne22-Jan-2002This week I wanted to look at England’s chances in India and give an early appraisal on their progress but being on holiday made it difficult to keep up to speed with the `goings on’ on the sub-continent. However, there is plenty time to reflect later.This has given me an appropriate time to talk a bit about our senior players at Gloucestershire CCC, the tremendous impact that they have made and why they are so invaluable to me. We often focus on the youth and the future stars and as I have mentioned in previous columns, I think we have this in abundance but for these guys to blossom and flourish, the quality of the senior structure needs to be spot on.I can enthuse about Jack Russell and Kim Barnett for ever because these two players are very special in their own right but, most importantly, they are special to me and to the ongoing progress of the club. You cannot separate Jack and Kim when it comes to playing standards. It is something we try to engender into our playing philosophy and two examples like Jack and Kim shows this off in practice. If you are cynical and are thinking that I love these guys because they make my job easier, I will forgive you because they do, but they also contribute a lot to the dynamics of the team.Jack is still `keeping’ as well as ever and when I watch international cricket, it confirms my suspicions that Jack is still rated in the top three in the world. He dominates most of our impressive fielding displays and there never is a moment that I can say `Jack is not quite with it today’. He represents the state that I want all Gloucestershire CCC players to be in and his presence on the field will help me achieve this.Equally, Kim’s presence is very reassuring. There are not many situations that Kim has not come across. His unique style works very well for him and although it might not work for other batsmen, it does encourage guys to explore and find a method that will suit them. There is nothing worse than trying to mould everyone into the same and I wholeheartedly support individual flair. I believe honed together with the right balance it will make us the most exciting team to watch. Winning is ultimately what you want to achieve but I think equally as important is entertaining. If we cannot win everything all the time, the next best thing is people walking away saying that they had a thoroughly enjoyable day.Although Jack and Kim are two glowing examples, I cannot ignore the role of Mike Smith and myself. Mike is very clinical when it comes to bowling and he leaves no stone unturned in his preparation for the season and, of course, for each match. Once again it may sound basic but a senior player showing that there are no short cuts is crucial. As for me, it is difficult for me to emphasize my role in glowing terms but my method is simply to lead from the front and being an all-rounder does help me to relate to all the disciplines required to perform at this level.Forgive me for repeating myself but we have a fantastic balance at the club with players of differing maturity coming together to form our strongest squad yet.
