A Lot of Hard Yakka - Simon Hughes

...the mid nineties having spent a decade and a half at the top of the domestic game but only the most dedicated of cricket fans would have been able to put a face to the name.

While Hughes may not have had the most glamorous of careers he still lived the life of a professional sportsman and in this book he provides an unequalled insight into that life. The eighties were an exciting time for English cricket, from Botham's heroics in the ...
...of them. This is not a biography as such, we don't learn much about Hughes' background beyond those details pertinent to his life as a cricketer. More it is a diarised history of his professional life, it is an insider's tale and while he may not have dined at the top table he did meet the Brearleys and Bothams, Gattings and Gowers on the field of play as equals and this gives the story that much more credibility than any journalist penned piece, ... more

A Lot of Hard Yakka - Simon Hughes

Simon Hughes may not be the most familiar name in cricket; he never played for England, nor was he ever seriously contemplated for selection. He retired in the mid nineties having spent a decade and a half at the top of the domestic game but only the most dedicated of cricket fans would have been able to put a face to the name.

While Hughes may not have had the most glamorous of careers he still lived the life of a professional sportsman and in this book he provides an unequalled insight into that life. The eighties were an exciting time for English cricket, from Botham's heroics in the '81 Ashes through victories at home and away there were any number of larger than life characters around and Hughes came into contact with most of them. This is not a biography as such, we don't learn much about Hughes' background beyond those details pertinent to his life as a cricketer. More it is a diarised history of his professional life, it is an insider's tale and while he may not have dined at the top table he did meet the Brearleys and Bothams, Gattings and Gowers on the field of play as equals and this gives the story that much more credibility than any journalist penned piece, no matter how good their source, could achieve.

'I haven't set the world alight, but I've hung around with people who have. This story is about those people, and my struggle to remain alongside them.'

The story begins in April 1980 and the young Hughes, still an undergraduate at Durham University, arrives for his first day as a professional cricketer. He is immediately met by some of the biggest names of the day: Mike Gatting, John Emburey and Mike Brearley. He is also met by his fellow rookies, young men who had come through the youth ranks alongside him they were his friends but also his competition. In a team full of internationals there are only so many chances for new players to make the grade and not all would be retained. The day was one of excitement but also one of disappointment, the atmosphere and conditions were not as rarefied as he had expected. The facilities were as run down as any club sides. Physical training consisted of running around the gym, at least for the fringe and new players - senior stars were less inclined to the activity, huddling in groups and chatting for the most part. All was overseen by Graham Barlow, one of the players. Lunch was a heavy plate of steak and kidney pudding. Pretty typical of British sport at the time I'd imagine.

Although short for a fast bowler and slightly built Hughes possessed sufficient pace and skill to quickly make the first team and within a couple of seasons had become a regular fixture, a position he held for more than a decade. Playing for Middlesex, one of the more successful teams of the time, and alongside many famous names this was no mean feat. What this means for the book is that Hughes is able to give a first hand view of top level sport and sportsmen. The life they lead, the pressures they're under, what motivates them and what holds them back.

Not surprisingly one of the biggest motivators is fear. Fear of failure on the field on any given day and the ongoing fear that you won't get picked again, your contract won't get renewed and you'll have to go and find a proper job. To some degree fear affects all players, although some to a lesser degree than others. Loosely, players are grouped into three types. Filling the rank and file positions are the journeyman players. These players are not so different from you and me, they have a degree of talent and application that allows them to play to a professional standard but in make up and outlook they're not so far removed. At the other end of the scale live the superstars and these players are most definitely not like you and me. Supreme in talent and self belief they occupy a different plane to the rest of us but Hughes still manages to relate them to us through his writing, on the one hand qualifying their greatness by comparison to his own ability and on the other humanising them with tales of the jealousies and rivalries that existed between them.

Some of the most interesting passages in the book relate to the third group of players. Those players who have all the talent but who equally are beset by demons and levels of fear that constantly work to undermine there performance at the very highest level. This is a truly insightful view of certain sportsmen and many of the observations are applicable across the top level of most sports.

There is an unpleasant and insulting cliché in sports punditry that representing your country should be all the motivation a player needs to perform at their best. While there may be an element of truth in this the fact is that top players can be just as paralysed by fear of failure and loss of confidence as anyone else and do need to handled in a sensitive way for them to play to their potential. The book names Chris Lewis and Graham Hick in this category but there are many others who could equally qualify. These two were incredibly talented cricketers from the early nineties who never managed to consistently reproduce their county form at international level and Hughes lays a substantial part of the blame at the door of the national coaches not really understanding the motivational requirements of these men, and the subsequent loss to both the player and the national team.

For Hughes the fear was a game by game dread that he wouldn't be up to the mark and the year on year fear that Middlesex would recruit some fine young tyro to make him surplus to requirements. This fear was at its worst in the year that Wisden (the cricketer's bible) downgraded him from Fast-Medium to Medium-Fast, quite a humiliation for a pace bowler.

His family background is in show business and although he was never a flamboyant, bar emptying player he had a taste for the big stage and enjoyed the high pressure, high profile moments of games. As part of a successful side he played in his share of finals and despite being surrounded by internationals was always trusted as a 'death' bowler. That is someone who bowls the final overs of a match when the batting side are looking to take risks and score heavily, this takes guts and nerve to maintain concentration and it is a credit to his ability that he was so trusted by captains such as Brearley and Gatting. 'Death' bowlers can be either heroes or villains and Hughes has experienced both sides of the coin, relating each with clear sighted honesty.

Hughes writes in an easy, engaging style with an eye to humour throughout. The book is presented in a diary format, each chapter representing a year or a season but is much more than a summary of the matches played. There is a liberal sprinkling of anecdotes and musings on the game throughout and you don't need to be a cricket anorak to enjoy it. A cut above most sports book, there is none of the self aggrandising or score settling to be found here as in other biographies. It rightly won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award on publication in 1997.

Since retiring Hughes has moved, not surprisingly on the evidence of this book, effortlessly into journalism, writing for The Independent. He also provides excellent analysis for the cricket coverage on Channel 4 in the past and currently with Channel 5.

If you followed cricket in the eighties and nineties you will enjoy this book's insights into the characters and events of the time. If you are a cricket fan, or indeed a fan of any sport, you will find this insight into the life of a professional sportsman incredibly interesting. 

...less