Centre stage for relaxed Russell (30 August 1999)

30 August 1999

Centre stage for relaxed Russell

Charles Randall

Tired last year, eager and refreshed this season - that was one factor behind Jack Russell's extraordinary domination as Gloucestershire's wicketkeeper while Somerset chased glory in vain.

Russell, man of the match, thought his chance of a winner's medal at Lord's might never come, until he won two in a month, with yesterday's NatWest Trophy success following hard on the Benson and Hedges Super Cup.

Though close to peak form, he confirmed he would never again be available for England. "I've made a mental break from that," he said, relieved he would no longer be worrying whether he would be selected or not.

"I don't want to play all the year round any more. I put my life and soul into each match for Gloucestershire and it's hard to keep up the tempo the whole year round. Last year I was tired."

There was a deep personal reason for Russell's pleasure yesterday. He would always remember visiting Lord's as a spectator with his brother David when they were young boys; David died after an accident at the age of 21.

"I thought about Dave while we were out there today," Russell said. "He's never too far away from my thoughts."

Somerset's surprise move of dropping Steffan Jones in favour of Graham Rose did not pay dividends, though Rose did bowl well. The omission came as a shock to Jones, who had played in nearly every one-day match this summer.

Jamie Cox, the captain, described it as the toughest decision he had made, citing a "gut feeling" that Jones was below top form.

Cox took advice about whether to bat first on the pitch and followed the suggestion. His opponents, on the other hand, would have done the opposite. Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire's captain, said: "Our game plan was to bat first. It looked a good enough wicket."

Cox said Somerset backed themselves to make the 230 target and were disappointed they failed. There were no excuses.

Kim Barnett's retirement from the field with a knee injury halfway through the Somerset innings was controversial. He was replaced by the excellent Dominic Hewson, and as Barnett had been suffering from tonsillitis earlier in the week and was not a modest fielder at the age of 39, Somerset and the umpires queried the substitution.

Sue Hayes, the Gloucestershire physiotherapist, was questioned at length by the umpires on the field, and Hewson stayed on.

John Bracewell, as coach, could share Gloucestershire's pride at winning a second trophy at Lord's in his second season in England.

The New Zealander said the county side had progressed enormously in certain areas and "stagnated" in others, which referred to their bottom placing in the championship table. "We've had to come from behind the facade of a magnificent overseas player in Courtney Walsh to win matches ourselves," he said. "I make no apologies for that because I feel it has helped a lot more players develop."

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)