COVERED SPRING 2020

COVERED 20 TRENTBRIDGE.CO.UK “It meant that all the effort I’ve put in during my 20s and 30s has really stood for something. To be working with a coach and a team who get that is massive.” ******* Time isn’t holding up. So sings David Byrne on Once in a Lifetime, summing up the inexorable march of the clock in a pithy but profound manner. There can be no escaping that age, and the ravages of the county game, can leave their impact – even on a player as storied as Trego. It’s something which didn’t escape some social media users after he signed for the Green and Golds – which, in turn, didn’t escape Trego himself. “I’ve already seen plenty of social media comments about me signing – mostly heart-warmingly positive – but there were a couple of beauties,” he says. “My favourite was the person who replied to the club saying ‘who are we signing next: Derek Pringle and Phil DeFreitas?!’ “I thought that was amazing – whoever sent that tweet can definitely have a pint off me at some stage!” You sense that the all-rounder is more of a subscriber to the ‘age is just a number’ school of thought. “The very fact I’m still playing at 38 is a message in itself,” he contends. “I’ve always taken the physicalities of the game seriously. When the sport became more professional, I took that on board, and I’m still hitting all the physical numbers that you’d probably expect from your 25-year-old pro, so I’m very proud of that. “And there are definitely things I’ve gained from my time in the game, particularly the mental side. “When you’ve played for 20 years, you’ve pretty much been in every situation. “There are certain moments in a match that you have to be on top of, and if I can help one of the lads get through that passage of play, then I’ll be doing what a senior player should be doing.” As we perch ourselves on the balcony beneath the Radcliffe Road End scoreboard, squinting in the early- season sunshine, there can be no escaping the fact that cricket has transformed during Trego’s time in the game. Sitting in a building which did not even exist a little over a decade ago, gazing over a thoroughly revamped sporting arena, and discussing the finer points of physical and mental conditioning, it is impossible to ignore the vast change that has taken place. And Trego has been sure to move with the times. “No negativity towards how it was, but it was very different at the start of my career,” he says. “If you think back to the George Best, Bobby Charlton era in football, there’s no doubt there’d have been a few beers after every game. “Flip forward to now, into the Cristiano Ronaldo world, where he has a chef and his body’s immaculate, all that sort of stuff, and there’s been a huge change. “Cricket’s gone through that transition. We used to finish a game, a slab of beers would be on the table, and you’d probably slide down to the bar and have a few drinks with the members as well. “But now, I think one of the phrases is ‘ice isn’t there to keep your drinks cold’. You’re doing ice baths, you’re having massages and you’ve got loads of support staff behind you. “Is the game any better? It’s almost impossible to compare across generations but the one-handed diving catches and the acrobatics over the “THE VERY FACT I’M STILL PLAYING AT 38 IS A MESSAGE IN ITSELF. I’VE ALWAYS TAKEN THE PHYSICALITIES OF THE GAME SERIOUSLY.” Peter Trego