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.

Surrey v Derbyshire day one

Surrey 181 all out (Wilson 70, Footitt 6-69, White 3-39, Cotton 1-32)
Derbyshire 164-5 (Madsen 48 not)

Writing tonight's blog sees me having a similar problem to the promoters of those old rock 'n' roll revues in 1950s America. How do you sort top billing between Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard?

More appositely for our purpose - who gets top billing? Six-gun Footitt or Seven-up Hosein?

That was quite a day of cricket. Surrey appeared to be comfortable, if not entirely trouble-free at lunch, when Wayne White had continued his impressive return to the county with two wickets and Harvey Hosein (pictured) had pouched his first two victims in first-class cricket.

Afterwards, they were simply blown away by the Derbyshire howitzer. Footitt steamed in and the Surrey batsmen largely gave catching practice to Hosein and the close field, as he was simply too quick for them.

Seven victims on debut is perhaps something Harvey dreamed about and it's not something he can or will do on a regular basis in the future. All he can do is hold those that come his way, which he did quite admirably today. Great stuff from a young player of real potential and incredibly heartening.

Footitt now has 72 wickets at less than twenty runs each and surely has to get an England Lions chance this winter. If he doesn't, the selectors lose any credibility that remains, as his record in division one last year suggested that the level isn't an issue. This year he has been a gale-force wind blowing through the defences of batsmen across the land and few have fancied it. Sure, there are still times when he loses line and length, but he's not alone in that. When it goes wrong for him it tends to be spectacularly so, but when it goes right...it is electric to watch.

There was a time, back in the 1980's, when pretty much every county had at least one genuine (usually overseas) quick and batsmen had to be fast on their feet to cope. Today there are very few genuine quick bowlers in the world game and, as member of a select band, Footitt is deserving of elevation to see if he is the real deal. I can vouch for a few batsmen who have been dismissed or hit by Mark this year who might just speak on his behalf...

Credit also to Ben Cotton for a less spectacular opening day in senior cricket, but one in which he bowled steadily and picked up his first wicket at first-class level. He is another who has impressed me and with hard work he could become the real deal.

When we batted, it seemed to be with a tad too much gay abandon. If the ball's there to be hit, then it needs put away, but I think a few people will be disappointed with breezy knocks that amounted to nothing of genuine substance when they got back to the dressing room. Four an over is fine, but not when you lose a wicket for every eight being bowled.

Apart from, that is, Maddo the Magnificent, unbeaten on 48 and a further 48 from his thousand for a second successive year. He really is a wonderful cricketer and a class act. It was entirely appropriate that as the day came to a close, young Harvey Hosein walked to the wicket with six overs to go in the day to join a batsman who could talk him through the undoubted nerves and set him at ease.

Seven catches, equalling the record set (twice) by the greatest of them all, Bob Taylor AND seeing the day through to the close unbeaten with the skipper.

Carlsberg don't do days.

But if they did...

Harvey, the autograph requests start here, lad. One game into your career and you're in the record books.