Natwest Trophy: Rao carves a niche on the south coast (13 August 1997)

Wednesday 13 August 1997

Natwest Trophy: Rao carves a niche on the south coast

Amin decree has far-reaching effect, says Ralph Dellor

SUSSEX have a history of taking players with exotic origins and accepting them as true sons of the south coast. Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji came from India, Ted Dexter from Italy, and the Greigs from South Africa to find a home in Hove by a variety of imaginative routes.

Even with this record of recruitment, it is an unlikely chain of events that has connected a decree by the dictator Idi Amin in Kampala in August 1972 to the Sussex hopes of success in the NatWest Trophy semi-final against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in August 1997.

Airline employee Krishnakant Rao and his family were among the Ugandan Asians expelled by Amin who settled in London. In December 1974 in Park Royal, Krishnakant`s wife, Meena, gave birth to a boy, Rajesh. Like his father, who had been a good enough player to represent Uganda, young Rajesh developed as the cricketer on whom so many Sussex hopes rest as they go in to the most important match in an otherwise forgettable season.

Rajesh Rao made his NatWest debut in the quarter-final at Derby. Derbyshire had scored 327 for eight in their 60 overs and if Sussex were to win, they would have to beat the record winning score for a side batting second, set by Warwickshire in the 1993 final - against Sussex.

The man of the match on that occasion had been Asif Din with 104 and Asif, by a strange coincidence, had been born in Uganda.

Against Derbyshire, Sussex did not make an auspicious start, losing Keith Greenfield in the first over before a run had been scored. Rao went in at No 3 to replace his great pal and proceeded to face 165 balls, hit 18 fours in scoring 158, and walked off with his own man-of-the-match award.

"I probably wouldn`t have been playing had Neil Lenham been fit," he said. "But I played and I got a couple of early shots away against Devon Malcolm. That steadied the nerves and it just went from there.

" It`s difficult to pin-point what went right on the day, but it was a flat pitch, I`d been in pretty good form leading up to that match and it all just went right for me."

His innings that day means that, suddenly, there is an expectation that what he did to Malcolm, Phillip DeFre- itas, Dominic Cork and Andrew Harris, he can do again to Allan Donald & Co.

"As long as we do all right against Donald, their main strike bowler, we`ve got as good a chance as anyone against them. They`ve got good players, but so have we and when we gel, we can compete with the best."

If Sussex do overcome Warwickshire, Rao will go back to the ground where he began his serious cricketing career. He was on the MCC groundstaff for two years, scoring 129 against Sussex at Slough in the Bain Hogg competition in 1995.

David Smith was in charge of Sussex that day and suggested he went to Hove for winter nets.

Despite the fact that he had played all his junior cricket with Middlesex and had represented England in all age groups up to 18, he was not the first, or last, young player to find that he had no place in the Middlesex scheme of things. He took up Sussex`s offer.

Sussex are expected to name the same line-up who beat Derbyshire but have added pace bowler Alex Edwards, 22, and off-spinner Justin Bates 21 to their squad. Neil Lenham is still out with a foot injury.

Warwickshire have a number of injury problems, with opener Andy Moles preparing to play with pain-killing injections after breaking his left little finger against Sussex 12 days ago.

Former England opener Nick Knight, who has been out for six weeks with a hand injury since taking a catch against Surrey in the championship, is unlikely to be considered after being named in Warwickshire`s second eleven side.

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