‘We’ve been given a lot of freedom’ – Young guns told to go out and express themselves

BY MARCUS HOOK

Nick Kimber says his swashbuckling innings of 84 off just 51 balls, which very nearly helped carry Surrey’s youngsters to victory over Warwickshire last weekend, typifies the message they have been given by head coach Gareth Batty and his staff to go out and express themselves.

Having already pulled off a thumping nine-wicket victory over Durham, the Oval outfit’s young guns matched Warwickshire’s 293 to claim a tie, captivating a Kia Oval crowd of almost 5,000 in the process.

Michael Burgess and Krunal Pandya’s fourth wicket stand of 160 in 25 overs for the visitors had seemingly crushed Surrey’s hopes of pulling off another shock, having won with 21 overs to spare a few days earlier.

When Kimber took guard – with the hosts five wickets down and still needing 165 more off 19.3 overs – very few would even have envisaged Surrey getting within 30 of the Bears, let alone close.

“We’ve been given a lot of freedom,” said the 21-year-old all-rounder.

“All the boys get around each other, it’s great fun and that’s the main thing.

“If you’re playing cricket and you’re happy you’re more likely to produce results.”

Kimber grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, although not before Nico Reifer had begun to turn the tide with a maiden half-century.

“Nico put us in a position to try and get something out of the game,” said Kimber. “I just went in thinking there was only one way to play if we wanted to get a result, especially on that wicket.

“Nico made it easy for me to have a few balls just to get in and after that I just tried to hit everything. I didn’t really think about it too much, I was just batting and seeing where we could get.

“When Matt Dunn came in, as well, he calmed me down a bit given his experience, and he also went on to play a brilliant innings that very nearly got us home. From where we were a tie wasn’t a bad effort.

“Dunny’s not known for being that kind of batter, but he was unreal. I couldn’t really watch the last couple of overs. I was in the changing room, but I heard the crowd getting behind him.”

Kimber added: “It was nice to give something back to the club, because I’ve been here a few years now, so it was nice to show what I can really do.

“The crowd were unbelievable. It was a great turnout. It really gets you going and makes you concentrate even more.

“Obviously, I’ve never experienced anything like that batting.

“The crowd do get behind you if you hit a boundary, and they really do let you know they’re there. It was awesome. I loved it.

“I tried not to think too far ahead. I was just taking it ball by ball, or trying to anyway, and just concentrating on every ball.

“There was one over I targeted, when Rob Yates was bowling, and it came off.

“Obviously, we would have loved to have won it, but from where we were, to get a tie, it feels a bit better than a tie.

“We’re a young group and we’re a bit inexperienced, but we’ve also got those older players who are helping us learn about the game and we’re getting better and better every game.

“We’re a tight bunch and it’s only going to help us improve going forward, but, for sure, we’ll go into the games coming up feeling confident and hoping to get a few points.

“If we can carry on improving, I’m sure the results will come our way.”

Main Photo: Nick Kimber and, inset, Richard Thompson
Picture: SCCC