Exclusive Interview With Gareth Roderick
27 February 2013
Gareth Roderick is looking forward to his first season with Gloucestershire after signing for the club, having been the top run-scorer in the West of England Premier League last season.
The young South African proved an outstanding success playing for Cheltenham in 2012 and also impressed in several second XI appearances for Gloucestershire.
Gareth recently arrived back in England to prepare for pre-season with the county and was happy to give supporters an insight into his background and aspirations for the future.
Tell us about your cricket career to date.
I started playing soft-ball cricket when I was six years old back home in Durban and it was a sport that I was always drawn to. I played schools cricket and represented my province at Under-13, Under-17 and Under-19 level. I went to quite a prestigious high school, Maritzburg College, whose old boys include Jonti Rhodes and Kevin Pietersen. I had the chance to work with the same coaches, who taught me a lot and got me better prepared mentally for cricket outside of school.
I had a few years of playing club cricket, including stints in the UK, the first one being in 2010 when I represented a village side just outside of Northampton. I played one or two games for Northants Under-19s and returned to the area the following year to play for Old Northamptonians, during which I played a bit of second XI cricket for Northants. After that I returned to South Africa and played a full first class season there for Kwazulu-Natal, making 12 first class appearances, but nothing really developed from that. Last season I came to England again to play for Cheltenham and managed to get some runs, which attracted interest from Gloucestershire, and here I am.
You took the West of England Premier League by storm last season. You must have enjoyed your time with Cheltenham.
Very much so. It’s a great club and they were good enough to release me from my duties with them in midweek to play second XI cricket for Gloucestershire, which was awesome. I didn’t have the greatest start for Cheltenham because I managed to get a first ball duck in my opening game, which must have made them wonder who they had signed. I got a ton in the next game and just carried on from there, scoring a few more centuries and making more than 1,200 runs. I was fortunate that Steve Cashmore, the head coach at Cheltenham, has ties with Gloucestershire and put in a word or two for me, which was very helpful. I had a trial game for the county in the second XI against Sussex at Hove, making 41 at the top of the order in a 40-over match and 38 in the three-day match. I must have played six or seven second team games in all and I got a hundred in my second against Leicestershire at Bristol.
You are also a talented wicketkeeper. How long have you filled that role?
I fielded at first slip at school and took over the gloves at the age of 17 when our keeper lost interest and quit. It was a very competitive school and if you didn’t want to play cricket when you left they didn’t really want you in the team. No one else wanted to be wicketkeeper so I said I would give it a go. I picked it up pretty quickly, but there is still a lot of work to be done on my keeping. I have decent hands and eyes, but there is the technical side to develop and I am looking forward to working with Richard Coughtrie and Jack Russell, which will be a real privilege. I am very keen to learn and hopefully being with those guys will bring about an improvement in my game.
Could you see yourself being Gloucestershire’s wicketkeeper this season?
As well as ‘Coffers’ and myself, we have young Cameron Herring on the staff. I was told last year that we would all start with a clean slate when it came to competing for places, but clearly Richard has a lot more experience than Cameron and I. He has been there and done it and I certainly don’t think I deserve to be first choice keeper straight away. It is a priority to work on that side of my game, but at the same time I don’t want to let my batting fall behind, so it will take time. I also have to catch up on fitness, having been back in South Africa for the winter.
You have a British passport?
Yes, through my mother, Her family are all from the UK, scattered around England and Wales. I am back living in Cheltenham at the moment and commuting from there. I’m staying with the guy I stayed with last summer until I find a place in Bristol.
Are you a specialist opening batsman or are you happy anywhere in the top order?
I prefer the role of opener because it’s the one I have always filled and I went in first in most of my second XI cricket for Gloucestershire last season. But obviously in the modern era it is asking a lot to keep wicket and open in four-day cricket, so I’ll be happy to contribute wherever it is felt best in the batting order. The success of the team always comes before personal feelings. It’s going to be a very challenging season for me, not least because the first class cricket I played in South Africa involved only three-day games followed by one-day fixtures. In England you play a lot more games and it will be a lot tougher physically, so I’ll be doing my best to keep fit.
How would you describe yourself as a batsman?
I like putting bat to ball and don’t soak up dot balls unnecessarily. If someone is bowling well at me then fair dos, but otherwise I like to keep the scoreboard moving. I’m not a six-hitter at the moment, but maybe that will come if I beef up a bit!
