21.07.07
The Times - Tremlett gets up to speed thanks to short cut and a long chat
As a county captain, I get enormous pleasure from hearing that a Hampshire player has been picked for England. So when Chris Tremlett rang on Wednesday night to say that he would be making his Test debut, there was elation at both ends of the line. It meant a lot that he chose to call, but I emphasised that his selection was first and foremost down to his hard work since the winter.
At the start of the season we had a long heart-to-heart. I felt that I needed to be stern with him, to get in his face and tell him where I thought he was letting himself down. I asked what he wanted to achieve and how he intended to achieve it.
I also warned him that I would be on his case every hour of every game from April to September.
He is a lovely guy. We call him “Goober” at the Rose Bowl because he is tall and gawky and a bit all over everywhere. I think it comes from a character on American TV. He is your typical gentle giant, but deep down he has an aggressive streak and I wanted him to unleash some of that rage. Glenn McGrath is nice as well, but you wouldn’t know it from seeing him on the field.
I’ve suggested before that Chris could be a regular England bowler if he toughened up his body language. He disappointed everybody, including himself, in the one-day games in Australia last winter. I know that he felt upset and embarrassed by the criticism, but that experience and, perhaps, our chat have fired him up. It seems as though the penny has dropped.
He has also made a significant technical change. We went through his approach to bowling and how to set up batsmen and I suggested that he shorten his run-up. He practised in the nets and talked to Stuart Clark, our second overseas player.
Then, late in May, we had an ideal opportunity to test it during a match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston that was going nowhere.
From the first ball, the change of pace was obvious. Nic Pothas and I looked at each other behind the wicket and immediately took a couple of steps back. Chris didn’t find his rhythm straight away -he bowled a few no-balls and Alex Loudon hit several fours -but we were clearly on to something. When I asked Clark what he thought, he said: “Why didn’t he do it two years ago?”
Since then -on slow pitches -Chris has been getting up to 92 and 93mph. Before that, he wasn’t making the most of his 6ft 7in height. He was collapsing in his delivery stride, which meant that his point of release was lower than it should have been. Now, because he is running in off about eight paces, his weight has to be forward so that he bowls over his front leg instead of falling away. The action is just more efficient.
I thought that Chris was a good pick against India. How long he stays in the team may depend on injuries, but if he gets a run through the series and bowls the way he has for Hampshire, he will bring the house down. If you ask county batsmen to name the best young fast bowlers in the championship, a lot will say Chris in the first division and Stuart Broad in the second division.
It must have been a close call between those two at Lord’s, but from Chris’s figures it looks like he has justified the selectors’ faith so far. I met Broad for the first time at a VW cricket match last Monday and I was amazed at how tall he is (6ft 6in). We didn’t speak for long, but I know his old man really well and if Stuart is as strong-minded as Broad Sr, then he, too, will be around for a long time.
This is an exciting period for young pace bowlers in England. A fewspeak for long, but I know his old man really well and if Stuart is as strong-minded as Broad Sr, then he, too, will be around for a long time.
This is an exciting period for young pace bowlers in England. A few others have impressed me. Charlie Shreck at Nottinghamshire looks really, really good and with a fine captain in Stephen Fleming he will not be over-bowled. Graham Onions, of Durham, is another promising bowler with a bit of an edge.
And I certainly wouldn’t give up on Liam Plunkett. He could be very good once he understands what he is meant to be doing. To me, he doesn’t seem sure whether he is supposed to be an out-and-out quick or a medium-fast swing bowler. Maybe he needs some guidance on that one, but he has the ability to re-emerge when he is clear in his mind.