Harvey Hosein: an appreciation

With the benefit of hindsight, breaking the Derbyshire record for dismissals in a match and equalling the world record for dismissals by a wicket-keeper on first-class debut was not the best thing for Harvey Hosein.

After all, he was eighteen years old and looked considerably younger. He will have kept wicket far better subsequently and barely registered in the scorebook, but those eleven victims at the Oval in 2014 suggested that Derbyshire might be on to something. Given that at the time Academy alumni were not loitering on every street corner, he was celebrated with perhaps undue haste in some quarters.

He was, after all, far from the finished article. Why would he be, in such callow youth? There were times, especially standing up, when I thought his glove work left much to be desired, especially down the leg side, when balls were often not taken cleanly. It was to be expected. perhaps, but the signings of Gary Wilson and Daryn Smit saw him drop to third in the pecking order and at that time rightly so.

Some were dismissive of my constructively critical observations on him, but I grew up watching Bob Taylor, then Karl Krikken. If you are following on from such fine players, the expectations, at least of this correspondent, are high. Just like Paul Borrington, Harvey was elevated to senior cricket before he was ready and his limitations - primarily a slight frame -  were exposed.

There was an apprenticeship to serve, skills to learn but a good person in Smit to work with. There were also sessions with Jack Russell and the requisite skills for a long first-class career were gradually honed. None of us should underestimate the hard work that has gone into getting there.

Then there was his batting. The technique was always obvious, but the strength to score runs from anything other than deflections wasn't there for a long time. Watching him against brutish quick bowlers, one could admire the technique and the ability to keep them at bay, but the ability to do more than occupy the crease, nudge and nurdle was lacking.

Last season was his breakthrough year. Perhaps Dave Houghton having faith in him as number one and the retirement of Smit to coach the Academy was a factor. Being number one must have given him greater confidence and that was clear from the start. His wicket-keeping to Matt Critchley is now impressive, his footwork much improved, so much so that I notice him far less, always a good sign. He is more vocal in the field too and like all good wicket-keepers sets the tone for the side.

This season he has kicked on still further, his glove work steady, his batting simply astonishing. Including the pre-season Cardiff UCCE friendly, he has reeled off scores of 89*, 2, 78*, 83*, 55*, 63 and 34*. We can forgive the one aberration on a tricky wicket at Edgbaston, but these are the scores of a high quality performer, one who as a result sits atop the national averages with one of 157.5.

Heady stuff indeed. I always felt he was susceptible early to a yorker, which could trap him on the crease, but opponents have tried this in recent games and it has failed. He is quickly into position after seeing the ball early, plays a stroke of text book correctness and accumulates steadily.

Therein lies the secret of his success. He knows his game now and it is not as an aggressive player. He is not Jos Buttler, but I'll wager Jos wouldn't have handled the conditions at Edgbaston and The Riverside as well as Harvey did. Only four sixes in first-class cricket and one in List A tells a tale, but his isn't the counter-attacking game, such as played by James Pipe in the recent past. He is a steady hand, a calm presence, one who I could see batting higher still in the years ahead. 

He seems to have what it takes to bat first wicket down in time, as long as he could adjust from hours in the field to similar periods at the crease. His main shots are the cut, the glide through gulley, the flick off his hip. He can hook, but does so selectively and has an occasional cover drive of beauty. I don't expect him to be hitting bowlers down the ground for six, but that isn't for everyone and, like I say, he knows what works and does it well. I don't yet see him as the man to get us ten an over off the last ten to win, but very much one who could save a game or gradually work us into a position to go on and do so. That he has the third highest average for Derbyshire of any current player (34.57, behind Madsen and du Plooy) confirms both his development and potential.

I don't expect him to play in the T20, because we have the dynamic Ben McDermott for the dual role and he will hit down and out of the ground with raw power. I could however see him batting three in the RLODC, when Messrs Reece, Madsen and Critchley are elsewhere. Moreover, I could see him do it well, given time to build an innings rather than hit from the first ball.

I can also see him as a fixture in the Derbyshire eleven for a long time to come. He's one of our own, as they sometimes sing and has been since he was knee-high to a grasshopper at Matlock. Suitors may be out there, though I can't think of a county short of a good wicket-keeper at present.

Let's enjoy his talents. Recent Derbyshire history is littered with the names of those who promised, yet  fizzled out and either drifted from the game or to another county, with mixed results.

Harvey is in the vanguard of a youthful Derbyshire set up and is now one of the more experienced, alongside the likes of Conners, Cohen, Aitchison, Hudson-Prentice and Melton.

It will be fascinating to see how his career develops from here.