Eye on Millig: Helensburgh-born cricket star Peter Such

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EVEN people who normally have no interest in cricket have been talking about England’s remarkable comeback and victory over Australia in the third Ashes Test at historic Headingley, Leeds, last Sunday.

One Helensburgh man who was glued to his TV as the drama unfolded told me: “Change the question of 'where were you when Kennedy was assassinated?' to 'where were you when Ben Stokes took charge?'.

“It was astonishing, edge of the seat, sweaty palms viewing.”

I am sure the only Helensburgh-born cricketer to play for England in the Ashes, Peter Such, would concur, and it seems appropriate for Eye on Millig this week to catch up on his career.

Loughborough-based Peter has been the England and Wales Cricket Board national lead spin coach for seven years, spending most of his time working with talented youngsters on the England pathway, but coach education also plays a key role in his work.

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He says: “An important part of my job is to pass on my knowledge to players and coaches alike.

“We have some exceptional coaches in our county pathways and it’s great to be able to support them by giving masterclasses to county age group coaches.”

While he does not coach the England squad, his work is vital in the identification and development of the spin bowling stars of the future.

Now aged 55, Peter was born at 27 Cumberland Avenue, Helensburgh, on June 12, 1964, and went on to play for England as a right-arm off-spin bowler from 1993 until 1999.

His father was a Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer, based at Faslane, and his mother was a midwife.

He said: “My father served in the surface fleet, mainly frigates and destroyers, in the engine room. We later moved to Edinburgh, where we lived for two years.

“After this my father left the Navy and qualified as a teacher at Loughborough University before having a 30-year teaching career.

"Mum and Dad are both retired and live in South Nottinghamshire, as does my older brother, who was born at Long Eaton.”

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As a child Peter wanted to be a fast bowler, but a school sports teacher convinced him that he was more suited to spin.

How right he was, as Peter took more than 1,000 wickets for England, Essex, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, had a best performance in test matches of six wickets for 67 runs against Australia in his Test debut, and took five wickets in an innings on 49 occasions.

Peter, who had a side-on action characterised by a flurry of limbs, came in off a much longer run than most of his slow bowling contemporaries.

He relied mostly on patience, accuracy and subtle variations in flight and pace, rather than any mystery deliveries, to snare his victims.

His county career began with Nottinghamshire in 1982, and he moved to Leicestershire five years later. But it was not until he joined Essex in 1990, and formed an effective partnership with slow left-armer John Childs, that his career took off.

Peter played under four England captains in 11 Tests. He was released by Essex at the end of 2001, and played one season for Cambridgeshire.

It was his accuracy and natural economy, as well as his ability to bowl long spells and tie up an end — he once bowled 44 overs in a row in a day in a county game — that elevated him to international level, and he made his debut during the 1993 Ashes series on June 3, replacing John Emburey.

He made an immediate impact, achieving his best international figures of six for 67 on his debut, and featured in all but one of the Tests that summer.

He went on to feature in all three Tests against New Zealand the following year.

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However, he had to wait five years for his next chance at international level, against Australia at Adelaide, and only had the opportunity to play a couple more Tests after that, losing his place to Robert Croft or Ashley Giles, both also capable batsmen.

His final Test started on August 5, 1999, against New Zealand at Old Trafford.

Peter's batting was based around the forward defensive stroke, although he does carry the dubious distinction of grinding out what is now the second-longest duck in Test history, clocking in at 72 minutes of stonewalling in what turned out to be his final Test innings.

His best Test score was 14 not out, and he made two fifties in county cricket.

It was at Essex where he gained most success — although he is perhaps best remembered for hitting the winning boundary on the second day of a Natwest Trophy semi-final against Glamorgan in 1997, when play had been suspended the day before because of bad light.

In all he played 306 first class matches, scored 67 Test runs at an average of 6.09 and 1,645 first class runs at an average of 8.14, and bowled 3,124 deliveries in Tests and 58,448 first class at averages of 33.56 and 30.54 respectively.

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He took ten wickets in nine county games, and his best county figures were eight for 93.

Peter was the architect of the Essex Cricket Academy which, in its first three years, produced six county cricketers, including opener Sir Alistair Cook, who scored a century in his England Test debut and retired from Test cricket last year.

He was also lead tutor on the England and Wales Cricket Board Level IV elite coaching programme and a specialist coach for the England under 17 and 19 squads.

He left the Essex Academy in 2005 to work with a global outsourcing company, and he turned his attention to applying elite sports coaching skills to business environments.

His solid experience in business training and individual coaching makes his blend of skills of great value to any organisation wishing to improve their individual and collective performance.

Peter, who lives on the Essex and Suffolk border, said of his coaching work today: “I love this role. Spin bowling is my passion so it’s a perfect role for me.

"Coaching is one of those things that is as close as you can get to playing.

“I really enjoy working with spin bowlers, trying to help them become the best they can be, and hopefully go on and fulfil their ambitions.”

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Looking at the challenges the three formats of the game bring to spin coaches, he said: “The basics of the game will always remain the same, but the most important thing you can do as a spin bowler is to spin the ball as hard as you can.

“That will get you the drop and drift in the air you need to get the break and bounce off the pitch, so no matter what you’re doing you need to spin the ball hard.

“It then comes down to the different sort of skills and attributes that you need to be effective in the three different formats of the game — and, in 2020, four.

“But, whatever the format, the basics are the same, so with any young spin bowler you must encourage them to spin the ball hard, and then, if they can, put that into a bowling action that is constantly repeatable.”

The fruits of Peter’s hard work were definitely visible in last year’s under-19 World Cup when some of England’s new breed of young spinners were on show and the side finished seventh.

Email: milligeye@btinternet.com