Andre Nel: King of Frustration

I may have been the one ruled out of the Championship match at Derby with a thumb injury but I wasn’t the only Essex player suffering from frustration last week. Cricketers are always looking for something to fill in the time on rainy days and we’ve hit upon a real winner at Essex.

It all started at Taunton last year when much of the four-day game was affected by rain. As we were based out in the sticks we spent a lot of time stuck around the hotel. We stumbled upon a room that contained a lot of board games such as ‘Battleships’ and ‘Connect Four’. One particular game that caught the imagination was ‘Frustration’, which only one member of our squad could remember playing as a kid. Alex Tudor showed his age…

Everyone loved it so much that when we got to the end of our stay in Taunton we decided to buy the hotel’s box off them for a fiver, which has proved money well spent! Some of our boys end up spewing over that game because frustration really is the operative word. It’s all down to the luck of the dice so the boys can get very upset.

Andre Nel seems to be the ‘King of Frustration’ in the Essex dressing room but that’s only because there is no skill involved in the game! Andre’s always very quiet when he’s not winning but when he’s going well he shouts and screams uncontrollably…which you won’t find too hard to imagine.

My absence at Derby meant Adam Wheater was handed his Championship debut which brought back memories of my own one-day debut all those years ago – coincidentally, away to Derby. Warming up ahead of your first match when you know you are going to represent the team you’ve dreamt about playing gives you a real buzz. For me it was a very proud moment and I’m sure Adam felt the same way. Adam did exceptionally well during the game as he put on a key partnership with Ravi Bopara and also kept well. No doubt he’ll be a major player for Essex in the future – but hopefully not the foreseeable future, being a wicketkeeper myself!

After losing a tight game at Derby it was important to bounce back the following day in the Friends Provident Trophy at home to Sussex. Having spent the previous four days icing my thumb and taking anti-inflammatory pills it was heartening to discover a noticeable improvement on the morning of the game. I’d not done any catching since testing it ahead of the previous game and although it wasn’t perfect it felt good enough for me to play in a key game like that one.

Victory against Sussex (via Duckworth & Lewis) was due to an exceptional team performance. Our batting was built around Bopara and Grant Flower’s partnership, during which they expressed themselves terrifically. Ravi is a special player in the form of his life and Grant – in his first proper knock of the season – played one of the best and most confident innings I’ve seen him play for Essex. Ryan ten Doeschate then got some vital runs towards the end and I chipped in with a few right at the death to give us a challenging total.

Unfortunately we lost some overs due to rain which meant Sussex’s run-chase became something close to a Twenty20 game. We started off well in the field and the pressure built so that their required rate went up to 10 per over. It is difficult to sustain that when you are losing wickets and new players are coming in. Our guys bowled and fielded really well with lots of energy and a high skill factor.

Next up is a four-day tourist match against New Zealand at Chelmsford from Friday which I’m really excited about. It’s a good challenge to pit myself against international opposition. All the guys involved are really up for it because you always want to test yourself against some of the best players in the world.

It’s particularly exciting that New Zealand will have their IPL players back for this match. Included in those returning is my ‘oppo’ Brendon McCullum. What a player he is - his cricket is getting better and better. Brendon is a huge talent so it will be really good to see how he goes about his batting – will he continue to be ultra-positive like he’s been in the IPL or look to rein himself in a little? Hopefully I’ll get a chance to chat about a few bits and pieces with him on the keeping side during the game.

Finally this week I’d like to pay my own tribute to Joe Hussain, who died last weekend. Joe coached me at Ilford Cricket School from the age of nine until I was 19. He gave me a lot of advice when I was younger and looked after me a bit. Joe definitely improved my game – he was the type of coach who let you play, show off your natural flair and then correct you accordingly.

Joe was very passionate about cricket and was obviously a driving force behind Nasser’s success as well as being very keen for his other ‘boys’ (those he coached) to do well. He will be missed.

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