Hamish Looks Forward to Christmas In England
29 November 2012
While many of his Gloucestershire team-mates are in sunnier climes, Hamish Marshall is looking forward to a traditional family Christmas in England this winter.
The former New Zealand Test batsman is busy training with those members of the squad not playing abroad at the moment in a change to his normal routine.
Hamish told this website: “It’s my first full winter here for many years and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve tended to go back home to play for my old club in New Zealand, but this year is a change and a new challenge working hard with the lads at the County Ground.
“My wife Mags and I are expecting our second child in January, which is why we are staying in England. Our little boy Ollie will be 16 months old by then so Christmas is going to be pretty special. It won’t matter what’s in his presents as long as he can rip the paper off!”
Two-hour net sessions have been the order of the day for Gloucestershire’s batsmen this month and Hamish is relishing the opportunity.
“We are working on different skills and trying out new things,” he said. “There has been a lot of short-ball stuff in the nets over the past couple of weeks and now we are doing some boundary hitting.
“We all have areas of our game which need work and at the moment I am looking at different shot options and trying to improve various aspects of my technique.
“With the short ball practice, we faced the bowling machine at about 80mph and worked on pulls and cut shots, as well as defending and evading that sort of delivery.
“It’s a case of seeing what feels comfortable to you as an individual. I am forever learning about my game and there is always something new to think about and try to bring into it.”
Reflecting on last summer, Hamish admits it ended on a low note in the LV=County Championship and expects a significant improvement in 2013.
“We were very upset to finish bottom,” he said. “With a couple of games to go we could have easily have ended up in mid-table, which made it even more disappointing.
“We lost a few matches by trying to win them and that was an important learning experience to take into next season because, above all, we need to be more consistent.
“As individuals and as a team we need to stand up and be counted more and if that happens I think the right results will come our way.”
Gloucestershire will have a new captain next season following Alex Gidman’s decision to step down from the role. The club are actively seeking an overseas player to take on the job.
“We haven’t heard anything as yet,” said Hamish. “We had Ed Cowan here last summer, but he is likely to be selected by Australia and might not be an option.
“It would be great to sign a talented overseas player with leadership qualities for the whole season. That isn’t easy these days, but there are players out there and if they tick the right boxes I’m sure every effort will be made to recruit one.
“New Zealand have a very busy 18 months of cricket ahead, so if we try to get another international player from there it might not be for the whole season.
“That might not be ideal, but we will just have to wait and see what happens.”
With all the development work going on at the County Ground this winter, Hamish admits it is a strange environment in which to be training.
“It’s certainly unusual. We come in and go out of different doors to normal and sometimes it seems as though we are moving up and down little tunnels, but our dressing room is the same and it’s just a case of getting on with the job.
“When we think of the bigger picture and how fantastic the ground will look when the work is finished, it makes any small inconvenience now well worthwhile.”
