ROBIN_SMITH_INTERVIEW_JUL95

Edited version of an interview with Robin Smith

Today`s (15th July, 1995) issue of the Daily Telegraph contains an interesting interview with Robin Smith by Michael Parkinson. Robin Smith had some interesting things to say about facing the West Indian fast bowlers:

"I know people are going to say I am having them on, but the fact is I enjoyed Edgbaston. It wasn`t a great pitch. The trouble with the uneven bounce was that it went up and up. At Lord`s it was up and down. The worst part of batting against short-pitched bowling is that you can be out there for 45 minutes and think you are playing quite well until you realise you haven`t scored a run in that time.

"Bishop is the quickest bowler I have ever faced - he is as quick now as he was four years ago - and he was at his fastest at Edgbaston. He has genuine pace, and he seems to accelerate from the pitch. There were a couple of times out there when I wondered if I had sufficient life insurance.

The other thought I had when I was batting was, strangely enough, a business concern. I have a company making cricket helmets, and I remember thinking when they were whizzing the ball past my head whether my helmets were any good, and hoping to God they stod the test. I wore a visor for only the second time in my career, but I think I might stick with it. You look at players who have been smashed in the face and see what it has done to them, not just physically but mentally, too.

It was a pity we didn`t have a different kind of wicket after Lord`s. We were on such a high that what we needed ideally was a five-day featherbed where we could consolidate our confidence and make them work hard. If our wickets have any bounce in them, uneven or otherwise, the West Indies are going to have a big advantage over us. When I was at the other end watching our players, I could see the concern in the eyes of one or two of them. Not fear, but worry about what they were being required to do.

You have to understand what it is like out there in the middle. It`s a street fight, and they never stop coming at you. They play the game bloody hard, but that`s the way I like it, because if you play well against them then you haved passed the ultimate test. Curiously, their fast bowlers are some of the nicest guys in their team. I have played 20 Tests against them and I have never been sledged. They play it tough, but I think they respect opponents who fight back.

When I was batting at Edgbaston, Brian Lara came up to me and said `Well played`. I pointed out I wasn`t scoring many. He said: `I think you are batting really well.` I`m glad we have this break now before Old Trafford. There`s a new spirit in the team, different from the time when Keith Fletcher was in charge. I`m not bagging Fletcher, but it is much more positive and agreeable nowadays. Illy has changed things for the better, and I value the advice that John Edrich has given me. I just hope we can mend the bones and hang on to the confidence we found at Lord`s.

It is difficult to recuperate given the amount of cricket we play. After batting at Lord`s for eight and a half hours against the West Indies I went with Hampshire to play Derbyshire on what might be called a sporting wicket. I had a day of Devon charging in at me. Then Edgbaston, and five and a half hours of ducking and weaving. By this time I`d forgotten what a half volley looked like.

There is a different kind of concentration needed when you are playing high pace for long periods of time. It requires a special focus. What does concentrate the mind is if you happen to have a lapse of concentration against a spinner, the worst thing that can happen is being caught bat-pad, whereas if you make a mistake against a ball flying at your head, the consequences are a bit more serious."

His ambition is to play for England in South Africa. "That would be special. To play in Durban, my home town, and see what kind of reception I receive is a great ambition. Then the World Cup. I do hope this nonsense that I can`t play spinners is not held against me. Great legspin bowlers like Shane Warne trouble me, but then they trouble most players. All right, perhaps I am not the greatest player of spin bowling, but I`m not that bad.

All I can tell you is that whenever we play Sussex, the first thing they do when I walk out is put Ian Salisbury on to bowl. You might be interested to know that so far I have scored nine first-class centuries against Sussex, and three hundreds in oneday games. What is more - and this is my big plug for the World Cup in India - in 38 one-day games I have played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, I average 48, as against my overall average of 41."