Will Steve Kirby fill the missing piece of the Somerset puzzle?

SAM DALLING: One of the most potent attacks in county cricket will be led by their former bowler, who knows the Taunton pressure-cooker all too well

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Few would describe Steve Kirby the bowler as philosophical.  

They may have other choice words for the feisty quick but deep thinker is unlikely to be among them. He was a man who embodied white-line fever, although 797 wickets in the professional game suggest there was merit to his methods.  

But Kirby 2.0 - the highly-regarded bowling coach whose latest assignment will be to develop Somerset’s already potent attack – is a different creature.

"I have a little statement," he tells The Cricketer. "'You won’t remember what I say; you might remember a little bit of what I do, but you will always remember how I made you feel'. As a coach, my job with all the players is to build trust. I want them to have confidence and belief in what they are doing. 

”The coaches I responded best to as a player those that I knew had my back. I worked with Wayne Clark in my Yorkshire days – he got us to win the Championship for the first time in 33 years. I remember watching the way he went about his business and it was all about man-management. He wanted us to feel a million dollars every time we played. I care hugely about my players and that is the overarching fabric to my philosophy.” 

Kirby is returning to the West Country after a six-year absence. The 43-year-old has led a nomadic existence: born in Lancashire; released by Leicestershire, made in Yorkshire; fully serviceable at both Gloucestershire and Somerset. 

Upon retiring he took a few years out of the game, returning to head up the MCC Young Cricketer’s programme in London.  From there he took up his current role at Derbyshire but the chance to return to Taunton was irresistible. 

"I loved my days playing down there," he added. "It is the best Christmas present I have ever had. Somerset are a fantastic club and I just love how well supported they are. I am so excited to get back and see the faces of the supporters that I knew when I was playing. I am absolutely over the moon. I really, really am.

500 wickets for Lewis Gregory, whose stock continues to rise

"As soon as the job came out a fair few people messaged to let me know about it. I spoke to Jason (Kerr) and Sarge (Andy Hurry): they didn’t want to give too much away – they couldn’t really - but they encouraged me to apply.

"It was quite strange going back into the ground for the interview. I hadn’t been back for some time but when I walked in - and I know it sounds weird – but I felt like I was home. I don’t mean it fluffily but hopefully we can build a legacy."

Kirby arrived in TA1 in 2011 from the Bristol County Ground and took 182 wickets during his stint with the Cidermen. 

Plenty of familiar faces from that stint remain. Kerr, now head coach, was academy director while Hurry, now director of cricket, was the first-team coach. 

Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick and academy director Steve Snell were both on the playing staff, and Kirby also shared a dressing room with the likes of Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton, Roloef van der Merwe, Jack Leach, James Hildreth and Max Waller.

But his connections curried no favour where recruitment was concerned. "The interview process was very hard but in a sadistic way I really enjoyed it," he recalls.

"It was in two parts: they wanted to know how my coaching philosophy would help transition players from the pathway programme into the first team, and how it would help the established players and even the England boys. 

"The second bit was about the skills and expertise I would bring to the bowling unit to help us be successful in T20, and I identified one key area we need to be better in. We are right up there with the others in the country in every other area. I honestly think if we improve in that one area, we could get over the line. 

"I prepared and prepared and prepared for about a week, staying up until about 1:30am. I really went to town on both sides. You know me: I can talk and talk, and I only had 20 minutes to do both presentations. They put me on a timer, and I smashed them in nine minutes each. I was quite happy with myself!"

^{Kirby has a formidable attack to work with this season - though now without Dom Bess}

Both personally and professionally Somerset was the right move for Kirby: his family are still based in Bristol and for two years he has been making a gruelling three-hour commute multiple times weekly. 

But walking away from a Derbyshire side on the up – they reach T20 Finals Day for the first time in 2019 and surprised many in the Bob Willis Trophy by grabbing second spot in the North Group – was tough.

"I am indebted to Dave Houghton and Mal Loye for what they allowed me to do - I loved it,” Kirby explained. “The lads I was working with are fantastic: they are a really good bunch of people that are growing as human beings and as cricketers.

"It was a difficult conversation but Dave and Mal were so supportive and understanding about my situation. They knew the commute was really taking its toll on me and that I needed be back closer to my children. 

"I said to them straight away that I wouldn’t leave them in the lurch. I will help them find my replacement and continue working with the lads in January – it is such a big month for cricketers as they have to work hard to get their skills back up to speed. I am going to be pretty tired at the end of it as I working half with Derbyshire and half with Somerset!"

Prior to Christmas, Kirby spent time at Taunton helping Sri Lanka-bound England stars – Leach, Overton and Dom Bess – who will join Yorkshire for the 2021 season - prepare for the winter.

The link-up with Leach is perhaps the most interesting part of the new role. The left-armer spinner only bowling 52 overs in competitive games due a mixture of illness, coronavirus and bubble duties in 2020.

But Kirby is certain Leach’s positive attitude will see him bounce back.  

"First of all, he is a wonderful, wonderful bloke," he said. "He works so hard at his game. He has other challenges off the field that he has to contend with, but he never moans or whinges about them. He just gets on with what he needs to do. 

^{Kirby knows the pressure that comes with playing at Taunton all too well}

"Every day he goes into train – and I know this having played with him – he wants to be better than he was the day before. It is an attribute that will stand him in good stead. In my opinion, he is one of the, if not the spinners in the country: he has a very, very good attacking wicket-taking threat and he can control the rate."

Kirby will link up with Somerset on a full-time basis in February, working with a pace attack that dominated last year’s red-ball competition.

New-ball pairing Overton (30 wickets at 13.43) and Josh Davey (24 wickets at 13.79) were outstanding, while Gregory – a man on the fringes of the England white-ball side - has an exemplary red-ball record.

Jack Brooks adds both quality and title-winning nous and, although Jamie Overton has moved to Surrey, England Under-19 star Kasey Aldridge is highly-regarded. 

"The attack goes at 2.2-an-over and can take wickets on any pitch: they have all bases covered,” he admitted when asked how he intends to improve one of the best bowling units around. 

"Now it is about going down to the nitty gritty: how do we knock the tail over better? How do we bowl at certain players? I am not going to baffle people with stats but if I want a team or a player to buy into something then it has to be backed up with hard evidence. 

"It is my job to go and get the evidence and then get the message over clearly and concisely. You need one clear message. I believe you only have two minutes with a player to make an impact so there no point trying to get three messages across. 

"We are going to look at the minutiae of certain situations and then practice very specifically. For example, if we are playing a left-hander who we know is wristy, we are really going to go to town on what the right field is for that player and where we bowl at him."

If ‘Tango’ can squeeze and extra couple of per cent from his charges then maybe, just maybe, they can go where no Somerset team has gone before.