Juliet steals Crook's heart

Former Lancashire and Northamptonshire cricketer Steven Crook fronts Juliet the Sun

For Ring of Fire, Mumbai, read Time for Heroes at the Brit Oval.

Johnny Cash may have kickstarted the trend when Andrew Flintoff spun out a rendition of his country classic to inspire his troops during a lunch break in India, but the Man in Black is no longer the only folk hero to spur England to a landmark Test victory.

Juliet the Sun, fronted by former Lancashire and Northamptonshire cricketer Steven Crook, was given pride of place in the England dressing room in this summer’s Ashes, and their indie anthem gave Andrew Strauss’ team one final lift to help England win back the urn.

But whisper it quietly - the man whose music became England’s gee-up track was born and bred in Australia.

“If our track contributed in any way to them winning the Ashes, then that’s phenomenal for us,” lead singer and guitarist Crook tells ecb.co.uk.

“From an Australian point of view, anything you can do to influence someone is great.

“Music is very emotional. A lot of cricketers play it before they go out to play, and to help friends such as Fred, Jimmy and Monty is what we’re here for.”

Time for Heroes, not to be confused with The Libertines song of the same name, was released as Juliet the Sun’s debut single in October, and Crook, 26, from Adelaide, is throwing his full weight behind music having been released by Northants after two injury-plagued seasons. Their first album is due to emerge in January.

A versatile all-rounder, Crook has been accustomed to stealing the limelight on balmy Twenty20 Cup evenings, but even he was a tad nervous when rubbing shoulders with the likes of Eric Clapton and Keane.

“I’m a massive Eric Clapton fan,” says Crook. “I’ve played cricket with David English and the Bunbury’s (a celebrity team based in London), where I was lucky enough to meet him and chat about cricket and the band.

“He’s a great guy and spoke well about his experiences as a rock star."

The image of Lily Allen cosying up to Test Match Special’s Jonathan Agnew would have been unthinkable only five years ago - but Crook says that in this era of Twenty20 and the Indian Premier League, the two worlds are converging.

Steven's band Juliet the Sun wowed the crowd at the PCA Awards which were held in London in October

"Cricket and rock are not miles apart," Crook says. "Cricket is booming and it’s in the entertainment industry now. It’s the same with music.”

For all his links with rock’s A-list, Crook found a great deal of gratitude in winning the respect of his fellow cricketers.

Asked to play at this month’s annual PCA Awards ceremony alongside Keane's Tom Chaplin - an avid cricket fan himself - Juliet the Sun took the house down.

“The response was great. It was obviously a massive event on the cricket calendar, and quite unnerving to play in front of your peers. But people were dancing on the dancefloor and it was a fantastic night.

“I’ve only been playing guitar for a couple of years. But I’ve got great musicians around me and it’s just clicked.

“Music has really come to the forefront over the last few years. I’ve struggled a lot with injuries, so the time off has really allowed me to be able to get in the studio and write songs.

“I love cricket, always have and always will. But at this moment in time, music is my focus.”