Dream Team: Tom Smith, Gloucestershire spinner
1. CHRIS ROGERS – Australia & Middlesex
I was very fortunate to play with Chris at Middlesex and he’s just a great team guy. He’s a very determined batsmen and it’s great to see him enjoying success with Australia now. As a young player in the dressing room he was a model professional to look up to and learn from.
2. ANDREW STRAUSS – Retired
Straussy is another player I was very fortunate to play with in my time at Middlesex. He brought a wealth of experience into the dressing room and was always willing to provide advice to the younger guys. You only have to look at the success he enjoyed with England to understand what a great player he was.
3. MURRAY GOODWIN – Retired
He was a thorough professional and great role model to have for the younger players in the dressing room. Murray had a lot of enthusiasm for cricket, he was always willing to help with my game and he was always a good guy to have a beer with – he had some great stories.
4. OWAIS SHAH – Hampshire
I spent a year with Owais at Middlesex before he moved on and he really helped my game. He taught me a lot about how to face spin from a batsman’s perspective. Overall, just a great guy, he made me feel very welcome when I joined from Sussex and that was nice to see from one of the experienced members of the squad.
5. MATT PRIOR – Retired
It’s sad to see Matt have to retire through injury, he’s still so young and had a lot more cricket in him. He was someone I looked up to when I was in the juniors at Sussex, he took a similar path to me and to see what he’s achieved is great. He was always very useful in the nets and giving me tips about my game.
6. ADAM GILCHRIST – Retired
What’s there not to say about Gilchrist! What you see on the television is what you get in real life, he’s just an amazing guy and breath of fresh air. I’ll never forget my first five-for, it was a t20 game and Gilly got a few stumpings. He then signed my match-ball and it’s still on my wall – it’s very special and something I will certainly never forget.
7. ROBIN MARTIN-JENKINS – Retired
He is another one who you can put in the ‘great guy’ category. He was one of those England players who didn’t quite get their chance at the international level and maybe deserved more. But he’s just a true professional and very funny person – he had a really dry sense of humour and it was nice to see as a younger player.
8. MUSHTAQ AHMED – Retired
He was just an amazing guy and his attitude and hunger for wickets was second to none. To get 100 plus wickets in the Championship twice is unbelievable and it was great just to watch him. He was always keen to help me which was really nice, especially being a spin bowler and he added a lot to my game.
9. SAQLAIN MUSHTAQ – Retired
A pleasure to play with and true professional. I remember when he came to Sussex he spent a lot of time in the second team recovering from a knee injury, I captained him for three months and it was quite surreal. I just kept picking his brains, it’s not often you’re in the presence of a true legend of the game.
10. JAMES KIRTLEY – Retired
James and I grew up together in the same East Sussex town, Eastbourne. It’s great to see someone who I spent so much time with go on to have the success he did. He’s one of the boyhood people I looked up to and wanted to emulate in terms of the success he enjoyed – we still keep in contact.
11. STEVEN FINN – England & Middlesex
We spent four years together at Middlesex and Finny is very loyal to the county which is great. We didn’t play too many games together but he always performed very well and it’s nice to see someone you’ve played with go on to bigger things especially with England.