With England flying the flag for entertainment in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, back home county cricketers have been dusting off their pads and braving the chilly outdoors for the start of pre-season. After an exciting end to the 2010 County Championship which saw Nottinghamshire winning the title on the last day of the season, county cricket seems to have gained a new lease of life. One man also looking forward to new beginnings is former England bowler Ryan Sidebottom; after playing an integral part in Nottinghamshire’s championship push, he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in September, before then going on to sign a three-year deal with former county Yorkshire. After reporting back for his first fitness day back at the Headingley Carnegie ground since 2003, Sport.co.uk caught up with the Roger Daltrey look-a-like (his words) to discuss England, the resurgence of country cricket and the politics of the IPL...
‘I was quite used to being overlooked’
If anyone reaped the benefits of the timely overhaul of the ECB’s selection policy, then it is Ryan Sidebottom. During a period where the selectors were picking and disregarding players at alarming regularity, the left-arm seam bowler made one solitary Test appearance against Pakistan in 2001, returning match figures of 0 for 64. He soon found himself back within the confines of county cricket, which by this time resembled a graveyard for those who dared to deserve a shot in the Test arena and not seize it instantly. On-lookers at the time remarked that his bowling was reminiscent of a man who was riddled with worry that this would be his first and only appearance for England, much like his father, Arnie Sidebottom, who made played in one Test for England against Australia in 1985. Two underwhelming ODIs later that year against Zimbabwe, and the floppy-haired Yorkshire-man’s international career looked to be over.
“I was quite used to being overlooked, even as a kid,” he told Sport.co.uk in an exclusive interview. “I didn’t get picked for a lot of youth-sides, and to be honest that’s when it hurts you the most because you take it personally when you don’t know how the system works.”
Six years later, after some consistently impressive showings in the county championship following a move from to Nottinghamshire in 2004 and a spate of injuries to England’s bowling attack, Peter Moores handed Sidebottom his 2nd cap (much to the surprise of many, including Ryan). This time, knowing that he would get a fair crack at the whip, an unperturbed Sidebottom took eight wickets against the West Indies at his old stomping ground Headingley. Now back in familiar surroundings, having signed a new three-year deal, Yorkshire’s prodigal son is predicting some fruitful times back home.
“It’s nice to be back, in amongst some young talented players,” gleamed Sidebottom. “It’s not changed too much since I was last here; Martyn Moxon, the coach, and Craig White are here who played when I was a young lad. In fact I roomed with Martyn on my first pre-season 16 years ago.
“From what I’ve seen the lads are working really hard to improve on last year. Yorkshire were actually tipped to go down last year, but I think now people will be expecting the side to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. A lot of our players have gone away with England ‘A’ to work on their games, so I think the county will reap the benefits of it.”
‘You can play Twenty20 till you’re blue in the face...’
Sidebottom played a pivotal part in Nottinghamshire’s last gasp victory in the 2010 County Championship, scoring 400 and taking three wickets against Lancashire on the final day of the season to acquire the necessary amount of points to win the title. Helping Notts reach their target of 400 with an unbeaten seven, he then claimed one of the three wickets required for the feat, which he rates as a great moment, for both himself and county cricket.
“Just how it panned out – we were sat in the dressing room for 3 days wondering if we would even get to play. To win it like we did was incredible – as soon as we got the runs I think we all knew deep down that we were onto something special. We were really fired up and it turned out to be a great, great day.
“I think county cricket has always been harshly criticised; it’s not watched by as many people but last year was a great finish for the game. With the bonus points now teams are going more for the win than the boring draws because they want to stay up in that first division to fight for the championship – just look at the scenes last year, it was bedlam! That’s what cricket is all about; you can play Twenty20 till you’re blue in the face – but that’s real cricket. ”
Following his Test recall, Sidebottom toured India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand; the last one proving the most fruitful as he picked up 24 wickets at an average 17.08, which included a career best innings haul of 7-34 in the last Test in Napier. Later in 2007 he was announced as England’s player of the year, and while Sidebottom failed to hit the heights of those last 12 months again, he was still a key part of England’s bowling armoury and proved as much in the one-day game when injuries limited his opportunities in the longer form.
‘There are some people that got picked up in the IPL that I hadn’t even heard of...’
England’s successful 2010 Twenty20 World Cup win was a testament to this, as he was picked ahead of James Anderson to lead the bowling attack in the Caribbean, a mantle he took on with great aplomb. All the more reason that his snub in the 2011 IPL auction, along with host of other England players from that side, came as quite a shock.
“I’m not going to lie, I was pretty shocked that myself; we’re world champions – we thrashed all the other teams; for half of the players not to be picked up is a bit of a joke. There are some people who got picked up in the IPL auction that I hadn’t even heard of, but that’s the way it goes. I suppose it all depends on the ECB, not to mention the fact that the IPL has a lot of Australian coaches who will obviously go for Australian domestic players as they will know the circuit very well.”
As well as Sidebottom, the likes of Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott, Tim Bresnan and Ian Bell were overlooked, despite their performances in Australia over the winter, as well as the fringe players Ajmal Shahzad and Monty Panesar.
“I suppose with the English Test schedule they don’t get enough time and maybe teams don’t feel comfortable in spending a lot of money on a player who won’t be sticking around for the entire duration of the tournament. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is a massive surprise at the amount of our players who didn’t get picked up.”
‘Jimmy’s one of the best bowlers in the world – that doesn’t mean he has super powers...’
One man in particular who should see such a snub as a blessing in disguise is James Anderson. Following his exceptional performance in the 2010/11 Ashes series he has looked somewhat jaded, clearly exhausted from what has been a very demanding 18 months for him. As someone whose international career eventually stretched him too thin, Sidebottom feels that the England management must be careful with over-exerting their world-class bowler.
“There is a massive summer lined up, with Tests and limited overs matches lined up against Sri Lanka and India, so it’s going to be huge. I don’t care how strong or how fit you are it is going to take its toll if you are bowling that amount of overs. Jimmy’s one of the best bowlers in the world, but that doesn’t mean he’s got super powers – he looks very lethargic at times and he needs a break for playing at that intensity. Maybe even just rest him for one game so he has got a week or so off to recuperate before going into the next one. With the conditions in the sub-continent, you’re energy levels go very quickly so they need to be careful in case he burns out and needs to recharge his batteries.”
To say that he had an international career that spanned nine years would paint the picture of a true world-beater, but he was not. After all – 22 Tests, 25 ODIs and 18 Twenty20s in that time does not compute to that of a great, and nor should it. But such analysis of what is essentially a measure of playing efficiency, and nothing more, does a huge disservice to a man who gave his all for the cause and fired up those around him. A T20 World Cup winner, a Test hat-trick against New Zealand, England player of the year award 2007 and an impressive 79 wickets in 22 Tests – but his proudest moment? THAT first cap for England.
“I made my Test debut at Lords- what more could anyone ask for? My Dad used to say to me, always do your best, and believe. And he should know; unlike me, he never got a second chance.”
Ryan Sidebottom’s experience and ability will be a massive boost for Yorkshire in their push for honours this season – his relentless attitude and tenacity are something that England will have to do without for the foreseeable future.