First published in 2015

The stitches

Getting back on the horse | Sussex U13s v Shropshire U13s, 1993

There’d been some rain about, it was a bit slippery, I took the short ball on, missed it and it hit me straight in the head and ripped my eyebrow. Where my eyebrow was, you could see my eyeball. That was the first bang on the head I had and it was a good lesson. I had my hand over my eye, I pulled it away and there was a puddle of blood in my hand – that’s a very vivid memory. We went to the hospital, got stitched up and went back to the ground – we were still batting. As every hard, pushy father does, my dad said, ‘Right, you’ve got to get back out there.’ The same bowler came back on, bowled the short ball again and thankfully I connected with it. It was literally the dream.

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The lucky number

Sussex U18 Tour | South Africa, 2000

I went on a Sussex U18 tour to South Africa and we were given numbers – which was very exciting. In the end, they were just given out alphabetically so I happened to be given the number 13. I had a really good tour and it was the reason I got a contract with Sussex. Since then my lucky number has always been 13. It was the first time that Sussex thought I could make it as a professional cricketer. If I’m honest, nothing was going to get in my way when it came to playing professional cricket. From the age of eight I wanted to be a professional cricketer and believed I was going to be – but it’s special when it begins to become reality, and that tour stands out in my mind.

The battle

25* | Worcestershire v Sussex, CricInfo Championship Division Two, New Road, 2001

I remember my debut innings for Sussex, against Worcestershire – it was when my love for the battle in the middle started. Andy Bichel ran in hand and I really felt it. That was the first time I’d come up against an Aussie playing hard cricket and I just loved it. I loved the battle and I loved being in the fight. We had a real do in the middle – it was brilliant – but, most importantly, I remember being at lunch just after and Andy Bichel walked in. He is a strong bloke and I was just out of school; I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, what is he going to do here?’ He came over to me and I was a bit nervous but he shook my hand and said, ‘Great competition, mate. Loved it.’ There and then, I knew that that is what it’s all about. You can battle on the pitch, not an inch given, but the minute you walk off the pitch you leave it out there. Win or lose, you look your opposition in the eye, you shake hands, and you do it right.

The lesson

100 | Sussex 2nd XI v Hampshire 2nd XI, 2nd XI Championship, Hastings, 2001

In my first year playing for Sussex I was dropped. I went to the second XI, scored a big hundred, and got back into the first XI. What that set me up for was the understanding that things might not always go your way, and you have two options when you get dropped: one is to blame everyone else, make excuses and fall by the wayside; the other is to go back to the drawing board, get better and kick the door down to get back in the team. That was a very valuable lesson to learn early in my career.

As an individual that was my best day in an England shirt because I was able to save the game for my mates. That was a very proud moment. Ironically, I stood in the huddle at the beginning of the day and said, ‘Days like today are when heroes are made.’ You think back to Atherton and Russell at the Wanderers, these are opportunities to stand up and make your country proud, and little did I know that I would be the one at the end of the day with my arms aloft in the air. That meant so much to all of us and I just happened to be the lucky one who had my day. It’s the picture I’ve got in my gym. When I was going through my rehab, with the dream to play for England again, that picture was always my motivation. That moment, that feeling, was what I always looked at because I wanted it again. That’s why I was doing it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, but it will always be there.