Player Profiles

Tuesday 1st June 2010

An Interview with Harvey Hosein - Howard Dytham 31st May 2010

I caught up with Harvey Hosein, a member of the Mini Academy and DCB U14 Squad, who was called up last week to keep wicket for Derbyshire County Cricket Club 2nd XI v Glamorgan at Swansea.  At 13 years old (yes he's not 14 until August!!), he may well be one of the youngest players ever to play at this level, but I somehow doubt that the occasion overawed him!!  I took the opportunity to ask him how he found 'mixing it' with the big boys in the 2nd team!!

Hi Harvey.  First of all how did you feel when you were asked to play for the Derbyshire 2nd team?

Hi Howard.  I was on the School Bus when my Dad called to say that you had asked if I was available to play in the 2nd XI against Glamorgan 2nd XI.  I was quite nervous but excited at the same time.  I felt more relaxed after meeting all the players and getting to know them when we went out for something to eat.

Do you know whether you are the youngest player ever to play at this level?

I'm not sure if I'm the youngest, I just wanted to concentrate and do my best for them.

What was it like being around a few professional players and other experienced players?  What did you learn from them?

They knew I was probably feeling a bit nervous so they told a few jokes about CBeebies and made me feel welcome.  Because the game is quite long, everyone tries to relax when they are not on the field but they concentrate when they are batting, bowling and fielding.  Overall, it was a good experience keeping to bowlers like Mark Footitt who can bowl up to 90mph.

How did you 'keep'?  Was it very different to other cricket you have played in?

The match was much longer than anything I had every played.  It was almost like going on tour.  I didn't keep in the first innings because Glamorgan were nearly all out by the time I got to the ground.  I kept in the 2nd innings on day two for 85 overs.  The pace of the game is different.  Everything happens quicker and more accurately.  I tried to do the things I normally do like running up to the wicket between balls and encouraging the bowlers and team.

I was quite happy with my keeping, probably 7 out of 10.  There were a few byes I could have done better with but I took a catch of Matt Higginbottom.  We lost the match which was disappointing but I was really glad that I got to play.

Thanks for your time Harvey

Tuesday 1st June 2010

Mitch – The Hundred Specialist

DCB Mini Academy player Michael Mitchell has just completed a remarkable week during which he has scored 3 hundreds, all of them not out. His first of the 3 against Staffs U15 was his first ever century and he clearly enjoyed the experience as he followed it up with 2 more ( 180 not out for Denby and 102 not out for Derbyshire U15s again ). Howard Dytham caught up with him to find out a bit more about the Mitch’s thought on a great week. 

1)      Michael, first of all congratulations on scoring your first hundred and then following it up with 2 more in a week. What was it like to get your first hundred under your belt?

 Thanks Howard. It was an emotional day, but at the time I was just trying to score as many runs for the team as possible. I felt proud of what I had achieved. It felt really significant to me, the first of many I hoped. That innings I will never forget. 

2)      Is it a case of all the hard work you have out in over the last few years finally paying off?

It definitely is, over the last two years, I have trained as hard as I could, physically improving my fitness to give myself the best chance to bat longer lengths of time, in the nets; playing more short balls, 1-1 working on playing freely and 1-1’s have eventually paid off.

3)      Scoring 3 centuries in a week and the time it takes must be mentally draining as well as physically. How did you manage this?

Thanks to the work I have done physically during the winter which helped me continue to push runs at the ends of the games, but I could still feel the effects of tiredness.  I went to bed at a reasonable time, this helped me recover. Mentally was different, after my first hundred, I had much more belief in myself. I treated every game as a fresh day. I tried not to go out thinking about anything, just left my mind empty to concentrate on one ball at a time. 

4)      Having spent so much time at the crease to achieve this, how are you going to go about making sure this remains a habit and keep churning out the hundreds?

 Just try not to change anything, keep playing straight, keep a cool head at the crease, just try to continue this form for as long as possible. 

5)      Any messages for other young batsmen?

Believe in your own ability. Don’t become frustrated at the crease, there will be times when you find it hard, just dig deep and once you get through the tough patch, you will find it much easier. Play your shots and runs will come.

Monday 24th May 2010 

Harvey makes it big in the Premier League

Anyone strolling casually up to one of Matlock Cricket Club's Derbyshire Premier League matches while they were fielding in the last fortnight might initially have wondered where a child's voice, keenly encouraging the bowlers, was coming from. On closer inspection, they would have spotted that the wicketkeeper was a small boy and, after a few overs, they would have seen that he was doing a pretty tidy job in the full-on atmosphere that the top level of club cricket in Derbyshire generates.

The boy is Harvey Hosein, who is small for his age at 13, yet is raising eyebrows among serious judges around the County, not least Karl Krikken, the former Derbyshire keeper who is now the County's Academy Director.  Hosein, son of former Wirksworth and Matlock batsman Richard, is not playing as first-choice in the first team during the club's first season in the Premier League that would really be asking too much of him.  However, when regular keeper Andy Rodgers headed off on a three-week holiday, it occurred to Matlock captain Steve Pell who has kept wicket for the firsts a good deal himself that Hosein might be good enough to step in.

"We didn't just do it," said Pell.  “We rang Derbyshire first and asked if they thought it was a good idea to put a 13-year-old into the first team. Immediately, they said don't worry about throwing him in at all. They say he's as good a 13-year-old as they've ever seen. You never know how someone is going to develop at that age but in our opinion and bearing in mind that he's still in the under-14 age group he's an exceptional talent. On top of that, he's the nicest, most level-headed boy you could meet."

Young Hosein was especially keen not to submit himself to an interview at this early stage, preferring to let his wicketkeeping do the talking.

In his first match for Matlock, a fortnight ago, Alvaston and Boulton piled up 282-4 but there were only two byes in the total and Hosein took his first catch, to send back Chris McIlroy off Adam Burton's bowling.  At the end of the Matlock innings, with his team hanging on for a draw, Hosein had to go in as last man to face the last three overs, with former Derbyshire spinner Andy Gray among the bowlers trying to get him out and a pack of fielders around the bat.

"I wouldn't have wanted to put him in that position but he was completely unfazed," said Pell.  He has a good technique and wants to face the quickest bowlers in the nets."

Last Saturday against Sandiacre Town, Hosein's first taste of action, from the first ball of the match, was to scramble yards to his left to gather a leg-side wide from the club's Australian opening bowler, Mark Doyle. There were a few more byes this time and a sharp chance went to ground but he was also unfortunate enough to take a catch cleanly off what turned out to be a no-ball.

Hosein is in Derbyshire's mini-academy and also plays for his school, Denstone College.  There is a long road ahead but he is convinced he wants cricket to be his career.

For now, there will be one more first-team game, this weekend, before Rodgers returns for Matlock but watch out for the name Harvey Hosein in the coming years.

This article was first published in the Derby Evening Telegraph.  Photograph courtesy of Simon Mounsey.