Danny Briggs: No Spin Required

Hype can get a little boring, but after a disappointing season for Hampshire which saw them relegated from division 1 in the LV= County Championship as well as being dethroned as T20 champions by Leicestershire, Royals fans will take anything they can get!

Hants spinner Danny Briggs, 20, is the real deal though; no hyperbole required here. In the 2011 season, Briggs became the second youngest bowler after Derek Underwood to claim 100 first class wickets in County Cricket history, and this week he has joined up with England's senior squad for the first time after his inclusion in the squad for the T20 series against the West Indies.
 
Born on 30th April 1991 on the Isle of Wight, Briggs made his debut for Hampshire's first team in 2009 at the age of just 18. Breaking into the one-day side first, he later claimed the prized scalp of Somerset's Marcus Trescothic in his County Championship debut.
 
After a successful first season for Hampshire Briggs was called up to England's Under 19 squad for the tour of Bangladesh in October 2009, before travelling to New Zealand in January 2010 for the Under 19’s World Cup. Briggs excelled on both tours, returning from Bangladesh as leading wicket taker with 8 scalps from 7 One Day Internationals and was man of the match against Afghanistan at the World Cup, claiming 3 for 11 runs en route to the quarter finals in New Zealand.
 
Now firmly on the ECB's radar Briggs returned to Hampshire for the 2010 season taking 34 wickets in all competitions and was his sides leading wicket taker in the shortest form of the game as Hampshire lifted the Friends Life T20 trophy in front of a home crowd at the Rosebowl.
 
Briggs was then named in the England Performance Squad to tour Australia at the end of 2010, shadowing the senior squad on the Ashes tour. "I want to break into the Lions squad and the EPS (England Performance Squad) will help me do that," Briggs said of his inclusion in the squad. "This trip (to Australia) is about showing the coaches what I can do and improving my game. I've had a great year for Hampshire and it gives me a lot of confidence. There are some solid cricketers out there and it will be good to pick their brains in training and see what they do to get them to such a high standard.”
 
The Performance Squad went on to win both their matches Down Under with Briggs again excelling, taking 4-9 against Queensland XI. ECB Director David Parsons praised Briggs' performances in Australia, saying "It re-enforces his reputation as a young player of clear potential.”
 
A successful spell in Australia resulted in a call up to the England Lions squad for the first time to tour the Caribbean in January 2011. The Lions took part in the West Indies Cricket Board regional 4 day championships and again Briggs impressed, taking 15 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 24.
 
James Hildreth, Lions Captain for the Caribbean tour was full of praise for Briggs, saying "Every time I put Briggsy on to bowl he seems to get wickets, and he's really good at keeping it tight. He knows his game really well. He's obviously flourished in the 20 over format, but watching him bowl in four day cricket over in Australia and now out here in the West Indies, he's been doing really well."
 
Hildreth continued "He works hard in the nets and he's one of those bowlers who has quite a simple philosophy really - he doesn't try and vary it too much. He's got subtle changes in pace and spin and that works. He gets a lot of people trapped at the crease LBW and bowled and he knows what fields he wants."

Back home, the 2011 season may not have gone to plan for Hampshire, but Briggs' form has remained constant, something that has not gone unnoticed. Briggs’ Hampshire team mate Nic Pothas is one that sees the potential in the young spinner. Speaking in his Southampton Daily Echo column recently he said; "Briggsy is very young for a spinner but is maturing very quickly. He has been outstanding for us in the Friends Provident T20. He has the X-factor that most good spinners have in being able to read what a batsman is going to do next. If Danny Briggs reminds me of anyone, it is New Zealand star Daniel Vettori."
 
"We've always said he is like a left arm version of Shaun Udal, but he is also very quiet and Vettori-like.”
 
After successful spells with England's Under 19s, EPS and Lions teams in the past 12 months, the next step for Briggs was always going to be the full England squad, however the speed at which Briggs has made that step up - he is still only 20 after all - has been quite phenomenal.
 
He has the potential to be a top spinner for England and he will only develop by training with the senior England players, guided as he will for this two match series by the best English spinner of his generation, Graeme Swann.
 
Briggs knows that he has to keep doing the simple things well to continue his remarkable ascendancy up England's ranks. "A good ball is a good ball to any player. If I can just carry on and keep it simple, the better I can be." Hampshire and England will certainly hope the man from the Isle of Wight continues to do just that.
 

No Need For Duck-Worth Lewis at the Rosebowl

Until around 18:00 on Tuesday 6th September at a sodden Rosebowl in Southampton, the highlight of my day was getting Sunil Gavaskar to hold my duck. Now this isn't some crude or inappropriate euphemism, I'd probably better explain.
 

Sunil Gavaskar - one of the more
 surreal ducks of his career


 My best friends father Mike, who is sadly no longer with us, took a cuddly duck with him to Australia for the 2006 Ashes series. Quite apt given the way the Aussies ripped through England's batting order that year.

Anyway the Duck became an icon, sharing photo opportunities with the likes of Sir Ian Botham, Mike Atherton, and Merv Hughes, and now we can add to that fine list one of India's greats. Childish I know, but Gavaskar was a great sport for humouring me at least!

Tuesday was one of those days where grown men acted like children in the face of unavoidable, unrelenting boredom. Some Indian fans led a group containing 2 father Christmases around the ground singing and banging Tabla’s, whilst others played hand cricket with vaguely round objects.

At 16:00, around the time various forecasts had predicted a change in the weather, the heavens opened again and everyone ran for cover under the impressive new West Stand at the Rosebowl. At that stage, some people cut their losses and left. My dad was faltering but I encouraged him to stay just a little longer. The latest a match could start was 7pm, so we still had some time for a little cricket.

At 17:30 the unthinkable happened; the rain stopped, and for more than a few minutes this time too. The magnificent ground staff, who had worked hard all day, leapt back into action soaking up the rain and preparing the wicket for a match.



A chilly Rosebowl - Tuesday 6th September 2011

 The umpires, captains and coaches then did a little inspection after which the officials finally declared a game of sorts was on. 23 overs-a-side (that idea might catch on you know?)

The two sides then came out for their warm-ups and I watched with interest recalling Andrew Flintoff’s comments earlier this summer. Flintoff described an amateurish approach by the Indian players and he had a point. England came out and did some well coordinated stretches and fielding drills while India's bowlers threw a few pies leisurely down a practice strip before doing a little catching practice. All very improvised.

There was a stark difference in the intensity between the two sides if nothing else; real purpose and intent from England, whilst India looked like a team just going through the motions. No wonder England look so much fitter.

A lonely Nick Knight

 All these drills were overseen by a lonely looking Nick Knight, Sky Sports junior cricket commentator. He was out in the middle for what seemed an age, desperately looking for someone to talk to. A cameraman or an official would have sufficed, but no one was interested. You could imagine Bumble and Atherton back in the Sky commentary box having a little chuckle at the ex-Warwickshire openers expense!
Finally the toss took place and Cook called correctly and put India in to bat. They did okay, scoring 187-7 from 23 overs, but it always seemed a little shy on a flat wicket and with a limited bowling attack at their disposal. The home side always looked in control and reached the target with 5 balls to spare. Cook deserved the man of the match award for an impressive 80 not out, leading his side to victory.

The crowd, and in particular the Indian contingent was superb. I have seen England versus Australia in ODI's at the Rosebowl in the past and in many ways I preferred this game. There is such huge support for Indian cricket in this country that matches like this are always well attended and fiercely supported – I wish we played India more often to be honest. It keeps the interest up when other tours can sometimes peter out.

With the vociferous support at the Rosebowl came unfortunately the odd bigoted moron expressing xenophobic views. These clowns were completely in the minority though thankfully.

And so miraculously we had a decent game after all that wind, rain and coldness. India batted well but bowled averagely while England executed both disciplines with distinction. The good news is that with the likes of Parthiv Patel and Suresh Raina coming through India has some promise in the batting department. Their bowling unit however is a different story.

Still, at least India won’t return home with too many more ducks…