By Charlie Talbot-Smith
Darren Stevens was compared at the PCA dinner earlier this month, to a fine red wine – getting better with age.
The Kent all-rounder continues to belie his 39 years and after being awarded his benefit year at the county for 2016 – Stevens insisted that he is far from finished.
And while the red wine comparison might appear apt after a summer in which he claimed a career-best 61 wickets in four-day cricket – 87 across all forms – Stevens himself is looking forward to tucking into the beers this month.
A well-deserved break for Stevens will be enjoyed but it will not be long before the former Leicestershire man is back in the winter nets, planning his return to form for the 2016 season.
“I am still soaking it in at the moment. There is a lot to sort out and I am starting to get my committee together for the benefit stuff,” he said.
“When I moved down here in 2005 I never thought anything about a benefit year. I was just happy if I made it three or four more years in the professional game.
“To be where I am now is just amazing, it’s hard to take it all in to be honest, but I am very honoured.
“Cricket is a lot like football now with all the transfers, you don’t see benefit years very often anymore and I think they will disappear out of the game in time.
“My son is a Kentish boy and I love it down here. I still go back up the Midlands to see family, but this is my home and it will be for many more years.
“I am absolutely loving it still, some people have said to me, ‘give up the four-day stuff’, but I am loving bowling with the red ball.
“So unless my body says I have got to stop or I lose the love, I’ll carry on. But each year I have loved it more and more. I know my body, I will have a break now and probably get a bit of an October belly on the beers, but then I am back to it.
“I will spend quite a lot of time in the gym over the winter, because of the schedule you cannot do that really over the summer.
“And I have to start earlier and earlier every winter, that is one thing I have definitely noticed. By early November I will be back at it and especially this year as I want to get my batting back up where I want it.”
Stevens is referring to a summer with the bat that saw him score 635 runs at an average of 26 for a Kent side that struggled in the four-day competition in Division Two.
Historically, Stevens was always a batsman first with his bowling a second string, but that has all changed now – and his bowling success comes down to mindset.
“When you are a part-time bowler you are trying your hardest to have an impact, any opportunity you get you are trying to take wickets,” he added.
“But when you are a bit more established, and now I am given as many overs as I want, my goal has just been to keep it as simple as possible. You have to be patient rather than always looking to get players out.
“Of course you have plans for some batsmen and conditions might change but really it is the basics, on third or fourth stump and that is what I have done over the last few years.
“That’s all they do in Test cricket bowling really, OK so they bowl a bit quicker and we play on friendlier wickets but bowlers have to show that patience.”
The reference to friendlier wickets is an interesting one, there are those that believe English cricket is not preparing players for the Test arena with pitches that seam around with little bounce and reward medium pacers like Stevens.
And the man himself admits the favourable conditions have certainly helped, and called for a rehaul to the English game.
“Listen, I will bowl on anything, but I prefer them how they are at the moment, how could I not?” he added.
“If England cricket are going to play Test matches like they did this summer then they will need to leave the pitches the same as they are for Test cricket.
“So that involves batting in English conditions, green with a bit of something there.
“I have spoken to Keysy (Rob Key) an awful lot about this, we don’t have batsmen protecting their wickets, batting long periods.
“The pitches don’t help that, I accept that, but we need to make our mind up about what pitches we are preparing for Tests and get them as similar as possible for county cricket, if that means less wickets for me then so be it.”
This piece originally featured in The Cricket Paper on Friday October 9, 2015
