Hard toil swings it for Giddins (16 August 1999)
The last three years have proved to be something of a rollercoaster ride for Ed Giddins, the Warwickshire swing bowler who was yesterday included in an England squad for the first time
16-Aug-1999
16 August 1999
Hard toil swings it for Giddins
Christopher Lyles
The last three years have proved to be something of a rollercoaster
ride for Ed Giddins, the Warwickshire swing bowler who was yesterday
included in an England squad for the first time. After being handed a
19-month ban from first-class cricket for taking cocaine, towards the
end of the 1996 season, he was sacked by Sussex when a guiding hand
might have been more appropriate.
Not that Warwickshire, who were one of a bevy of counties clamouring
for his services, particularly lamented the unsympath-etic attitude
emanating from the South Coast. Giddins returned to action last
season, taking 83 championship wickets, and he has claimed a further
43 this year after an indifferent start.
"I just want it to be 11 o'clock on Thursday morning, if selected,"
said a delighted Giddins, 28, yesterday. "County cricket is one
atmosphere but I should imagine that Test cricket is quite another,
and I just want to feel that adrenalin flowing and to channel it in
the right direction."
The affable Giddins could perhaps be forgiven for thinking that an
individualistic character and past misdemeanours were starting to
count against him, but the well-documented changes to the England
selection panel and the injuries to Darren Gough, Alex Tudor and Dean
Headley have obviously worked in his favour.
"It has been a matter of nudging at that door," he added. "I have
been waiting for that one moment, and hopefully I can make it
impossible for them to leave me out. I was more hopeful of being
picked for the Oval, because of the injuries to other bowlers, which
I wouldn't wish on anyone. But it is up to their replacements to get
a foot in the door."
Giddins captured just nine wickets in his first six games this season
before bagging a further 34, at an average of 17, in the last six.
"For the first time since I started playing, I totally lost my rhythm
and I felt the panic stations a bit. The more overs I get under my
belt, the better I bowl, and I hardly bowled in the first few
matches. Knowing that the rain clouds were constantly around, it was
probably a matter of trying to do too much, but the rhythm came back
as suddenly as it went after a lucky catch off the boot at short leg.
"I'm now bowling more consistently than last year and I have tended
to use the inswinger as a surprise ball, as a genuine wicket-taking
ball every four or five overs rather than as a stock delivery."
His opportunities to play Test cricket were seemingly ebbing away,
but he was still planning to work on his fitness this winter by
undertaking a five-month programme at Lilleshall, at a personal cost
of L10,000. With a competent performance at the Oval against New
Zealand, he may be able to start planning for a winter in the
slightly more attractive surroundings of South Africa.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)