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| Mum’s tears has Adam Lyth crying over England call to tour West Indies | Mum’s tears has Adam Lyth crying over England call to tour West Indies |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Adam Lyth spent last Tuesday night at a benefit dinner for Yorkshire team-mate Richard Pyrah in Dubai, being pestered by his county colleagues for updates. Would he be named among England’s touring party to the Caribbean next month? It was the most nervous of waits and the mobile phone was checked constantly. | Adam Lyth spent last Tuesday night at a benefit dinner for Yorkshire team-mate Richard Pyrah in Dubai, being pestered by his county colleagues for updates. Would he be named among England’s touring party to the Caribbean next month? It was the most nervous of waits and the mobile phone was checked constantly. |
| Finally it rang, with the national selector James Whitaker’s name flashing on the screen. A brief conversation and a huge smile instantly gave the game away to those around him – he was on the plane. Lyth immediately called his wife, Elizabeth, to relay the good news before speaking to his parents, Alistair and Christine, back home in Whitby. And that was when the tears flowed. | Finally it rang, with the national selector James Whitaker’s name flashing on the screen. A brief conversation and a huge smile instantly gave the game away to those around him – he was on the plane. Lyth immediately called his wife, Elizabeth, to relay the good news before speaking to his parents, Alistair and Christine, back home in Whitby. And that was when the tears flowed. |
| For this tough left-handed opening batsman, who topped the charts with 1,498 runs in last season’s title triumph, this first senior international recognition at the age of 27 was as much for their sacrifices in his formative years as his own graft during two decades playing the sport. | For this tough left-handed opening batsman, who topped the charts with 1,498 runs in last season’s title triumph, this first senior international recognition at the age of 27 was as much for their sacrifices in his formative years as his own graft during two decades playing the sport. |
| “My mum started crying when I told her and that just set me off,” he tells the Guardian. “I couldn’t have done it without their help. God knows how many thousands of pounds they spent taking me round the country for games when I was a kid.” | “My mum started crying when I told her and that just set me off,” he tells the Guardian. “I couldn’t have done it without their help. God knows how many thousands of pounds they spent taking me round the country for games when I was a kid.” |
| Lyth, who was awarded his county cap after a breakthrough campaign in 2010 that reaped 1,509 first-class runs, admits he may never have taken up cricket had his parents not been such key participants at their local club. Football was his first passion. | Lyth, who was awarded his county cap after a breakthrough campaign in 2010 that reaped 1,509 first-class runs, admits he may never have taken up cricket had his parents not been such key participants at their local club. Football was his first passion. |
| “I loved it and was an all right central midfielder. There was a trial at Manchester City but I realised I wasn’t quite good enough to make it,” he says. “If my dad wasn’t playing cricket for Whitby, then I wouldn’t have. My mum used to make the teas and throw balls to me on the boundary and it started from there. I’m so grateful that I’ve got a good family behind me. I’ll now hopefully repay them with a few Test runs.” | |
| Lyth’s first chance to do so will, if selected, come in the three-Test series against West Indies starting on 13 April. Back-to-back warmup matches in St Kitts the week before will determine whether he becomes Alastair Cook’s ninth opening partner. Jonathan Trott, who has performed that job once before in Mirpur, Bangladesh, in 2010, is the other option. A 15th first-class century here in Abu Dhabi on Monday, on day two of the County Championship curtain-raiser between MCC and Yorkshire, with his new captain standing at first slip, was not a bad way to state an early claim. | Lyth’s first chance to do so will, if selected, come in the three-Test series against West Indies starting on 13 April. Back-to-back warmup matches in St Kitts the week before will determine whether he becomes Alastair Cook’s ninth opening partner. Jonathan Trott, who has performed that job once before in Mirpur, Bangladesh, in 2010, is the other option. A 15th first-class century here in Abu Dhabi on Monday, on day two of the County Championship curtain-raiser between MCC and Yorkshire, with his new captain standing at first slip, was not a bad way to state an early claim. |
| “I’ve chatted with Cookie over the past few days,” says Lyth at the team hotel on Saturday, the day before the game. “He said: ‘Play how you do for Yorkshire and you’ll be fine. And if you need a chat you know where I am.’ He seems a really nice guy and very humble. His Test record is up there with the very best and hopefully I’ll be batting alongside him in the West Indies if I can impress him and the coaches.” | “I’ve chatted with Cookie over the past few days,” says Lyth at the team hotel on Saturday, the day before the game. “He said: ‘Play how you do for Yorkshire and you’ll be fine. And if you need a chat you know where I am.’ He seems a really nice guy and very humble. His Test record is up there with the very best and hopefully I’ll be batting alongside him in the West Indies if I can impress him and the coaches.” |
| One such man to put a tick next to his name already is the ECB’s lead batting coach Graham Thorpe, who has worked with the left-hander in the Lions setup, most recently on the tour to South Africa in January. Lyth, who is naturally right-handed unless holding a cricket bat or golf club, reveals sessions with the former England batsman were something of a strange experience at first. “Thorpe was always my hero because I liked the way he pulled the ball and drove the ball,” he says. “So it was quite surreal when he was coaching me for the Lions, thinking I used to watch him on the TV.” | One such man to put a tick next to his name already is the ECB’s lead batting coach Graham Thorpe, who has worked with the left-hander in the Lions setup, most recently on the tour to South Africa in January. Lyth, who is naturally right-handed unless holding a cricket bat or golf club, reveals sessions with the former England batsman were something of a strange experience at first. “Thorpe was always my hero because I liked the way he pulled the ball and drove the ball,” he says. “So it was quite surreal when he was coaching me for the Lions, thinking I used to watch him on the TV.” |
| Did he look to copy him? “No, I’ve always played my own way. When I first broke into the first team I was more attacking. But now I’m older, wiser, I know my game a bit more.” | Did he look to copy him? “No, I’ve always played my own way. When I first broke into the first team I was more attacking. But now I’m older, wiser, I know my game a bit more.” |
| The Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, is another Lyth credits for his ascent to the top table, with the opener insisting the County Championship triumph last season was testament to the environment the former Australia Test bowler has created at the club. “He’s been massive for the changing room,” Lyth says. “He’s a laid-back guy and encourages you to put on a show on for the crowd.” | The Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, is another Lyth credits for his ascent to the top table, with the opener insisting the County Championship triumph last season was testament to the environment the former Australia Test bowler has created at the club. “He’s been massive for the changing room,” Lyth says. “He’s a laid-back guy and encourages you to put on a show on for the crowd.” |
| It was no surprise five team-mates – Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Gary Ballance – will join Lyth in the Caribbean, with the last two already tapped up for Test knowhow. | It was no surprise five team-mates – Jonny Bairstow, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and Gary Ballance – will join Lyth in the Caribbean, with the last two already tapped up for Test knowhow. |
| That first title win for 13 years contained what Lyth considers his two best innings to date, coming in consecutive games as Gillespie’s team surged towards the trophy. A monstrous 251, scored in just under 10 hours at the crease, helped crush rivals Lancashire by an innings and 18 runs at Old Trafford before his sixth of the campaign saw the White Rose county seal the championship with another innings victory over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. “I’ll never forget that day,” he says. “We celebrated with a few bottles of champagne and it was well deserved. I’m a passionate Yorkshireman and that is the dream for anyone from the county.” | |
| Could those exploits at the back of the season – the first a fierce Roses battle, the second with the added pressure of the television cameras – have prepared him for the heat of an Ashes battle this summer? “I guess it is as close as you’ll get at domestic level,” Lyth adds with a smile. He won’t look too far down the line. First comes the Caribbean and the chance of a lifetime. | Could those exploits at the back of the season – the first a fierce Roses battle, the second with the added pressure of the television cameras – have prepared him for the heat of an Ashes battle this summer? “I guess it is as close as you’ll get at domestic level,” Lyth adds with a smile. He won’t look too far down the line. First comes the Caribbean and the chance of a lifetime. |