up and down, a good passer, had good
vision but lacked a yard. I have to say
at that level I lacked pace. I only played
three football league games. Last one we
had to beat Bristol Rovers, penultimate
game, to go into the last game against
Bristol City to get a draw to stay in the old
third division, I was sub and we were two
one down and I came on for the second
half. I played really well, I made a goal.
Then the last game I didn’t get picked
and at the end of the season I got
released by John Bond. It was a bitter
pill to swallow because I got released by
recorded delivery, a letter on a Monday.
There was no phone call?
No, and my father opened the letter and
he was crying downstairs before I got to
see it, when you’re 19 its tough.
I was offered a place at Birmingham City
but at the same time I got asked by my
old coach from Glamorgan Cricket Club if
I fancied a few games for the Seconds…
I hadn’t picked a bat up for 18 months.
I played against Tim Munton and Brian
Macmillan, South African opening bowler
and the England opening bowler at St
Helens I got an 80-odd I think and a
60-odd. I had to borrow a bat because
I didn’t have one. Then I played against
Worcestershire the next game, got 80odd and then literally ended up having
a two-month contract. They offered me
a July and August of that year and then
a one year the next year. I didn’t take up
the Birmingham thing and that’s probably
one of my regrets really but at eight and
half stone and five foot four, I always felt
I played as a boy rather than as a man at
senior level.
The cricket just went from there really.
One year contracts, two year contracts.
Played for Merthyr, Merthyr in the
southern league for a couple of years
and that was that. And, interestingly,
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when that season finished, I had six
months to find work before the next
cricket season as at the time it was just
six month contracts.
My father had a haulage company and
he said, “you’ve got a job with me and
I’ll pay you cash right.” I had £35 off my
old man. I can remember it like it was
yesterday. £50 for Merthyr and then
Saturday we’re playing Midland division
of the southern league so there was a lot
of travelling. Saturday morning I’d have
to leave about nine for the game. He’d
get me in at six because that’s when
all his lorries were parked up, I’d put oil
skins on and I’d have to steam clean the
trailers for a fiver a trailer. I was like Bet
Lynch, had grease all round my eyes
and stuff like that. But looking back on it,
that was the kind of, I suppose National
Service, if you like, that you need
sometimes when you’re young to make
you appreciate things.
Was your dad a sort of disciplinarian?
No, we are best friends. Obviously he
was very upset when the football finished
but I think cricket was more of his love
than football.
So, he was probably more pleased actually.
Yeah, because I played for Glamorgan
I think, you know, so yeah, I think it
was a planned out thing. “I’ll give him
six months, hard six months, so he can
value when he goes back, and get a
good job really.”
You spent a long time playing for
Glamorgan, of course, your home county.
Back in the day it wasn’t as professional
as it is now. I always look at the first
ten years of my career as being a
little bit like rugby was before it went
professional and round about the same
time cricket kicked in as well with bleep
tests, ice baths, things like that, and
fitness became more of an issue in
cricket. So, that was about mid-90s
when rugby went the same way. So,
when I first started, ’86, it was a lot of
older players and it was harder to get
them out of the side so you could get in.
When you got in you felt under massive
pressure to score runs. And I think if
you talk to a lot of people from that era
they’ll say that they were always looking
over their shoulder because they’d get in
for two years and then they’d be out and
you were under pressure to score runs.
If you look at my career, the first four or
five years were all about playing three
games and out and it’s very difficult now
to perform under that. So, it took me
about five years really to establish myself.
I think it was in 1990 that I got 1,000 runs
for the first time. I went to Australia and
then South Africa.
That last South African year was massive
for me because I’d been out there one
year before. I’d one year left on my
I always look at the
first ten years of my
career as being a
little bit like rugby
was before it went
professional.
contract and I was sitting around twiddling
my thumbs that winter just doing a bit of
coaching so I rang up my mate in South
Africa and said, “Look, will you take me
back again?” And he said, “Yeah, come
out. This year Eastern Transvaal has
got a team as well, playing in the bowl,
and they’re first class.” He said, “If you
get a few runs you might get a chance,
playing.” So, I went back that year and had
a massive year in the Eastern Transvaal
league. I averaged over 100 playing for
them. I had five or six games for them
and we travelled all around really. It was
fantastic. I came back to the UK and I
was in great nick and I nearly emigrated
to South Africa that year. If my wife at the
time had come over we probably would
have. I’d have a job with Gillette South
Africa, Now, obviously things have turned
a bit… but I came back and I got 1,200
runs and averaged 40-odd that year
for Glamorgan and then got a two-year
contract followed by five or six purple
patch years … so yeah, that was probably
a turning point. That South Africa year was
probably a big turning point.
You got offered a renewal contract in
1998 and that was a tough decision for
you to turn that down, wasn’t it?
Yeah, disappointing that was. We’d won
a championship the year before. I’d been
vice-captain for three years and coming
to the end of the year they said “You
have got a year on your contract, do you
want to roll it on to two?” And for some
reason I never signed it, just never got
round to it, and at the end of the year I
was out of contract. They offered me a
two year deal and I was 7 years capped.
The rule of thumb is if you get to ten
years you get a benefit.
I just wanted to get to ten years. So, I
said, “Look, can you give me a three-year
contract?” And they categorically refused.
The committee wouldn’t give me another
year. So, I went to the chief exec and
said, “Look, I’ll take less money if you can
get me another year.” And he said, “I only
do the money. I don’t do the years. The
committee do the length of contracts.”
They wouldn’t budge.
So, I rang Chris Adams who happened
to be at the end of season PCA
(Professional Cricketers Association)
do. I didn’t go that year. Ironically he
happened to be talking to Matthew
Maynard, who was captain of Glamorgan
at the time, when I phoned him. I said,
“Mate, will you take me on a five year
contract?” And he said, “Yeah, I’ll ring you
in the morning. I’ll come back to you.”
competitions, championships together.
There were all Welsh lads; you don’t
get better than that really. But, the way
I was welcomed down here superseded
that no doubt.
What made you think to ring Chris Adams?
I was brought up by the sea…and I
like Sussex. No more, no less than
that. I’d never touted myself to anyone.
I got 90-odd twice here one day in a
championship game in that ’98 season
so I thought, “You know, there’s half a
chance.” I knew Chris quite well from
playing against him. So, I just thought.
“Well, where would I like to live?” I talked
to Derby when we played against them
and Dominic Cork and they said they
would take me on a five year contract
because obviously I was giving up the
potential of a benefit. So, I thought, “Well,
where would I like to live?” No disrespect
to Derby, I wanted somewhere I could
actually go and I thought, “Hove is lovely
and I wouldn’t mind going down there.”
So I just rang on the off chance.
I’ve been looked after at Sussex in
the two spells I’ve been here, it’s been
fantastic. I’ll always a have a massive
affinity with this place. You know, I
played for Glamorgan, all my mates
played there. We grew up together
playing Welsh schools together. We won
You always try and
do the best you can
but if the expectations
are low then it’s a
lot easier to enjoy
something.
I don’t think there are many people
that have won two titles with two
different countries.
No, there’s about five or six maybe. I know
Ramprakash and I think Tim Yeoman has
won it as well. He played a couple years
for England. Not many. I think there will
be more now, to be honest. I think Tim
Ambrose has now as well because he won
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