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time, the diminutive gloveman went back
to county cricket where he began to lay
the foundations that would make him a
stalwart.
In the winter of 2003/04 he enjoyed a run
of eight successiveTest appearances in a
combination of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
theWest Indies.
“At that point I was exceptionally happy
with the way I was keeping wicket, but
I simply didn’t score enough runs,” said
Read.
“Sri Lanka in particular was a difficult
place to bat. I struggled there, then in
theWest Indies we played on three
sporting wickets and won three games
in a brilliant series, but runs were pretty
hard to come by.
“That was it. I got dropped for the last
game of that series which was famously
the AntiguaTest where theWest Indies,
who were fed up with losing on seaming
wickets, decided to prepare an absolute
road on which Brian Lara got 400.”
Although Read’s chance did come again
against Pakistan in 2006, scores of 38,
55 and 33 were not enough for a starting
berth on what proved to be his last tour,
the 2006/07 Ashes in Australia that ended
in a 5-0 defeat.
“The end of my England career was pretty
horrible,” he recalled.
“I went into that series expecting to start
having played the last twoTest matches of
the home series back in England and done
reasonably well.
“I wasn’t selected, then I went into the last
two games feeling as far away from having
form under my belt as I ever have.
“I’d played two days of cricket in three
months and was in no way prepared for a
Boxing DayTest.
“Whilst I ended up breaking a record for
dismissals across twoTest matches, and I
kept well, I felt pretty underdone when it
came to the batting side of things. I knew
that was probably going to be the end.”
Far from allowing himself to be
demotivated by his international
misfortune, for Read, this experience
completed a trio of motivational factors
that have driven his exemplary career ever
since.
“I’ve used those England disappointments
in my favour,” he said.
“My three reasons for playing county
cricket are that I love the game, I love
Nottinghamshire and finally I still want to
prove people wrong.”
Since the last of his England experiences,
Read has gone on to play the best cricket
of his life.
In 2009 he scored 1,203 runs at 75.18,
his standout season with the bat,
clear evidence that Read was now the
embodiment of, rather than victim to,
the post Adam Gilchrist era of batting
glovemen.
“Gilchrist made a huge impact,” said
Read.
“As well as making sure my wicketkeeping
remained consistent, I also had to
look at how I was most likely to score
runs consistently, because the role of a
wicketkeeper was evolving in-front of me.
“I knew I was a good batsman but, up
until then, you didn’t necessarily have
to be.
“I came into the first class game in 1998
and I wanted to be the best keeper. If you
could average in the mid-20s and upwards
with the bat, that was seen as a bonus.
“You’d look around to name the best in
the country and you wouldn’t name the
ones that could bat the best, you’d name
those that would catch the best.
“But all of a sudden that was changing and
– with the older guard of wicketkeepers
starting to retire – you had guys like Matt
Prior andTim Ambrose coming into
the game and they’d been brought up
watching the likes of Gilchrist and knowing
they needed to score runs.
“A new breed had come in and it meant I
had to change with the times.”
Last season, the batting form of 2009
returned; 937 first class runs coming in 14
matches, at an average of 52.05 with three
centuries.
Read’s return from injury coincided with a
surge of victories that took Notts from the
bottom of the LV= County Championship
table to the top three, whilst also topping
their group in the 50 over competition.
His batting and glovework played a part
for sure but, perhaps more importantly,
there was now an established focal point to
which Nottinghamshire’s young side could
turn.
“All our players have only known me as
their Nottinghamshire captain in four day
cricket,” said Read.
“They know my methods, they know how
things work and they know how we put
things together as a team.
“Between bouts of rehab, it was actually
beneficial for me watching the downturn in
our form without being part of it.
“It made it easier for me to pull myself
away and look objectively. I knew what I
thought we needed to do and proposed
how we go and do it.
“It wasn’t rocket science by any means,
just a case of getting back to playing to
our strengths and making sure guys have
confidence in what they are doing and in
each other.
“My first game back wasWorcestershire
and as soon as we got that breakthrough
“My three reasons for playing county
cricket are that I love the game, I love
Nottinghamshire and finally I still
want to prove people wrong.”