How are you finding international cricket – is it what you expected? And what’s the biggest part of the step up?
It’s been a nice start for me and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it thoroughly. One big thing for me was the intensity that goes into every single ball of the match.
There’s no respite, you need to be switched on for every single ball because a chance could come your way, or you might get a little opening you have to take. From a batting point of view, good players can capitalise on those opportunities and really hurt you.
There’s no margin for error. On the whole, in practice as well, the intensity goes up another level. I guess they’re the two most noticeable things.
You look like you’re having fun out there, too...
That’s been a big part of being in international cricket. I’ve been really conscious of trying to have fun. When I have fun is when I express myself the best, and also you never know how long you will actually be there.
Obviously you have aspirations but you don’t know how long you’ll actually play international cricket for. You want to enjoy every single moment of it. If you are not motivated by putting an England shirt on and then playing in front of 50,000 people at the MCG, then you’ll probably have to find another sport.
You’ve got a very exotic back story compared with most of your England team-mates...
Dulwich College [in south-east London] had a programme where they wanted to get a West Indian kid over on a cricket scholarship that also included academic study – basically, to give a kid who was not as well-off an opportunity to experience something different – good for the school, good for the kid. Ruel Brathwaite – now at Hampshire – was the first project, and it was such a success they thought they’d continue it.
I followed Ruel and, after an initial recommendation by my coach, Mr Athey [Bill Athey, former England opener and Dulwich coach] came over to Barbados to watch me play in a game as a trialist. Obviously he was happy with my cricketing ability. Then I had to do an entrance exam – it wasn’t just cricket! I passed that and got a scholarship.
It’s a lovely school and the facilities are second-to-none – I think England have used them for practice in the past, which is a testament to how good they are. I did A-S levels and after that decided to go and play cricket full-time.
Which scenario excites you most: winning the game with a devastating spell or scoring four sixes in an over?
They’re all different. Obviously winning a game hitting four sixes is a different feeling. I think probably winning the game with a devastating spell trumps everything for the perfect scenario.