On the eve of the new county season, Middlesex seamer Ethan Bamber has been reflecting on a winter abroad and how he is better for the experience.
Following our Championship promotion at Worcester, Bamber headed to Adelaide in South Australia as his services were acquired by Adelaide University Cricket Club.
Heading to a new country so far away from home isn’t easy for anyone, but for Bamber – who admits that he likes routine – relished the opportunity and adopted a carpe diem approach.
“I loved it,” the 24-year-old said without hesitation.
“I think it was a really formative experience. I was a bit nervous about going to a new country, living on my own, meeting new people and fitting in.
“I’m a man of routine, so for it to be different was an exciting change. I had the opportunity to be independent and take responsibility for my own training.
“I was really lucky that Miles Hammond (Gloucestershire) was with me at my club and we got on really well. There were a lot of other great guys out there and the club was excellent.
“There was the odd moment where you took a step back and realised ‘jeez, I’m a long way from home’, and it was a long time – four months. Then you have to remember and think ‘what other job do you get to live in another country and do what you love?’”
Being the overseas player brings with it pressure as all eyes are on you and the expectation to perform is that little bit higher.
Bamber, who often speaks well beyond his years, did no different on this occasion and spoke about the reality of the job at hand.
“I loved the responsibility. I went over there and was expected to do well – you’re the person that they’ve brought in,” he explains.
“There was no one to hide behind: if they have a good batter in their team then it’s up to you to get them out and I loved that.
“The standard of most of the games was really good and I enjoyed the challenge of having to bowl in different ways to get wickets on different pitches and try out new tactics too.”
Thinking ahead, the seam bowler, has big dreams and he knows that in order to achieve his goals, he has to add more strings to his bow and mould into a plug and play cricketer – one that pitches up wherever and hit his straps from the off.
“You have to adapt quickly. You’re playing with a different ball – the Kookaburra rather than the Dukes – and there is slightly less of a seam,” Bamber says.
“One of the things I learnt was that you had to be less set in your ways. For example, you often see three slips in the 60th over and it was different out there – you might have had to go with the short ball with guys on the leg-side and have catchers in front of the bat.
“I came up with a rule for myself that anything that came into my head I had to go for it. That was exciting, as in the past I have definitely hidden and stayed within my boundaries.”
One thing that Bamber, who has played 48 times for the county, definitely wants to do in 2023 is push his boundaries and be useful across all formats.
“I want to nail myself down in the Championship side as a person that they (the coaches) can look at and know what they’re going to get from me. I want to win games for Middlesex and I’m driven to break into that white-ball side as well.
“I’ve played five T20s, I got whacked, was so far off the pace and was completely out of my depth. I think I’m in a much better place mentally to take on that challenge so I’d love to have the opportunity to play more white-ball cricket.”
One way that he is going to improve is by taking the pressure off himself and realise that things won’t go his way all of the time and that that’s okay. For him, it’s all about where his head is at and experimenting with different things.
“I’ve been working on my skills and figuring out how to adapt. I played some really good T20 games out in Oz where I was expected to do well as an overseas bowler. I didn’t always do well, but it was great to learn.
“The only targets I set for those matches was how I approached them mentally. I got into a habit back home of setting myself up for failure before I had even walked out onto the pitch and was thinking ‘this isn’t really your game, you’re going to get whacked’, and I just stripped everything back and judged myself on how I was before each ball in those big overs.
“In the semi-final, one of my overs went for 25, but mentally I was in a good place for that over – a way better place than I had ever been before. That was a win for me, even though it might sound a bit stupid.”
Back home in the UK, we experienced an extremely hot summer last year, but we have been warned time and time again that this is a sign of what’s ahead due to the effects of climate change.
With that, we may see different surfaces in England: dryer with less grass, something that may mean there’s less in it for bowlers and as a result they will have to adapt.
Growing up, Bamber, like many up-and-coming seamers would have learnt their trade on green pitches week-in week-out. This could potentially worry some, but Bamber says bring it on.
“No. It actually excites me.
“My dream is to play Test cricket for England. I am aware how far away from that I am, whether that happens or not, is another thing, but I am going to do everything I can to give me the best possible chance.
“This means playing on good pitches and the more good pitches we play on in county cricket, and the better players that we play against week-in-week-out provides an excellent opportunity.
“If you do that then you’re going to be in the window, whereas if you’re just performing on green tops then people will say that there is a caveat. I want to play on the best pitches against the best batters and see where I’m at. If I put everything in and get found out if things don’t go my way, then I can deal with that. I want that experience and I want that challenge.”
Well one person that can help him grow and boost his chances of representing his country is the club’s new captain, Toby Roland-Jones, who has experience of playing at the highest level, having featured for England in four Tests and a One-Day International.
Roland-Jones is someone who Bamber looks up to and admires and is looking forward to seeing how he can lead the team and what the group can achieve.
“I feel like I’ve learnt an enormous amount from him already. He’s been hugely patient and generous with his time and I have a huge amount of respect for him as a person let alone a captain.
“He’s a phenomenal bowler and that will take care of itself. He’s a great manager of people – he understands people and what they respond to.
“I think he expects a lot from me, but I say that in a good way because he believes in you. He wants people to make an impact in the game and that excited me as a bowler.”
One thing that might worry some is the lack of a pre-season. Due to an extremely wet March, Middlesex’s match against Kent and their intra-club game at Merchant Taylors’ School were washed out – meaning that only two of the three days against Surrey at the Kia Oval were possible.
However, Bamber being Bamber, always has a positive and optimistic outlook and explained that pre-season is largely irrelevant come the opening day of the season tomorrow.
“If you were to plan the pre-season, you wouldn’t have planned it the way it panned out. Despite this, you have to trust that your ability as a cricketer and the work that you do and the work that has been put in by all the staff that we are in the best place possible given the circumstances.
“Once we walk onto that field, you’re playing the same game than if you had played seven pre-season matches or zero. I think you have to put your mind in that moment, in that battle. If you let other stuff get in, then you’ll never be able to be fully there and that’s not really a thing once you’re out there.
“It wasn’t ideal, but we had a great winter and got overs in inside the tent, But the game is going to happen – on 6th April, 11 blokes are going to walk out onto the pitch – so whether we are ready or not is another thing, but we better be!”
