The year of John Simpson

NICK HOWSON: An England debut and a starring role in The Hundred has given the Middlesex wicketkeeper-batter a new perspective on life at the top of professional cricket. He's just getting the taste for the big time

"I would have started laughing at people who would have said I'd be making my international debut this summer."

Whatever you eventually remember 2021 for, try and make space for John Simpson, for he is a good news story worth embracing.

A county stalwart grinding away on the relentless domestic circuit, access to the limelight looked to be limited to online streams.

One uncomfortable truth about Covid-19 and cricket is that while it subjected many to suffering opportunities have been created for others.

And when England men's first-choice white-ball squad was plunged into self-isolation after seven positive cases in the group that faced Sri Lanka, it did just that for six uncapped players who were drafted in as part of an 18-strong replacement group for the three Pakistan one-day internationals.

While Brydon Carse, Will Jacks, Tom Helm, Phil Salt and David Payne (the only one of that group not part of the 55-man training squad from last summer), were likely always destined for opportunities down the line, the same couldn't be said for Simpson.

Due to turn 33 and with England producing quality wicketkeeper-batters like they are going out of fashion, the idea that Simpson may have missed the boat looked like an understatement in the extreme. "I had given up on it but I tried to work as hard I could," he admitted to The Cricketer.

"I've been around the county scene for quite a long time. For me, it has always been a dream of mine to play for England, but not just play but be successful over a long period of time.

^{Simpson very quickly settled into life as an England player}

"One thing my grandad (Ken Gowers, ex-Great Britain rugby league player) used to say to me was keep working hard and keep persevering because you never know when that opportunity is going to arrive. Low and behold in July that opportunity did.

"For the guys who don't think that dream is going to happen, I'm a proven case. It is about trying to stay as humble as you can and perform for your county. You never know what is around the corner."

It was on the second morning of the LV=Insurance County Championship clash with Gloucestershire at Bristol that Simpson got the call. He wasn't even aware of the outbreak when he missed a call from Chris Silverwood due to having to undergo a Covid test.

Unable to speak to his parents, both of whom were locked on the golf course, Middlesex captain Peter Handscomb was the first person he told. He carried drinks between overs as Middlesex toiled at the County Ground before heading to Cardiff for more swabs and a period of self-isolation.

The glamour of international cricket.

From the start, Simpson and co. were never made to feel like they were the second choice. Quite the opposite, in fact, they were upholding the reputation of the world champions.

"Silvers and Stokesy (stand-in captain Ben Stokes) said from the outset that you're all good enough to be here. This isn't a B team; this is an England team. We go out there and play like we're the No.1 white-ball team in the world and that is what we expect and that is the challenge they set to us, for us to replicate what the previous squad was all about.

"It was about showing the world not just how good a team we are but how good the players we have waiting in the wings, and using it is an opportunity to put yourself in the shop window.

^{Simpson was a revelation in the men's Hundred}

He added: "The management and everyone clicked. It was quite weird. I've never seen something gel so quickly. It was like we had played as a team for five-six years. The camaraderie around the changing room, the mutual respect that everyone had for each other whether you'd played zero or 40-50 games for England, Stokes had 100, the mutual respect for one another way helped the guys."

Though he'd made the final cut, Simpson expected to be carrying drinks, replacement bats and softs. This is an England men's cricket squad, after all, there were more than enough 'keepers to go around.

"I was under no illusions - I didn't think I was going to play a game," he conceded. "I thought that they'd give the gloves to Phil Salt, or Ben Duckett will play.

"Then Stokesy said after training I'd be playing and batting No.6 so that is how quickly it came around. Then it was just a case of getting my head around what a special day the next one would be."

In the space of four days, Simpson had gone from keeping wicket in the Championship to an England debut. In many ways it helped that it happened so quickly, giving him little or no time to contemplate the enormity of the occasion.

Being presented with his cap by familiar face Dawid Malan and a fast start at Sophia Gardens, with Pakistan reduced to 26 for 4 in seven overs, helped too.

"In every team sport the one thing you want to do is make a quick start and in every game bar the Edgbaston game we got off to a flyer. I got the first catch out the way as well (Mohammad Rizwan), that was a nice moment. The way Lewis Gregory and Saqib Mahmood started it set the tone for the series and was pretty impressive to watch. I had the best seat in the house."

England wiped the floor with Pakistan's A team, led by Babar Azam, and including Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rizwan, winning the series 3-0. They were barely troubled in the first two ODIs before chasing 332 to win at Edgbaston with 12 balls in reserve. A glance at the results in their raw form and you'd hardly have known there had been a wholesale change of personnel.

^{Things weren't as tranquil in the domestic game}

For Simpson, nine catches represented a solid return but 20 runs in two innings was a reminder of where he remains fallible. 

"I've always prided myself on being the best wicketkeeper, no doubt about that," he said. "That has always taken care of itself. In the Pakistan series, I think I showed how good I am with the gloves. 

"Maybe the shortcomings have come with the bat. Now I've had a taste and understand what international cricket is it is about trying to use that experience, look at where I fell short whether that is a technical or mental issue in terms of that step up. What do I need to be better in both? That is something I'll be looking at."

An international debut, an appearance on his home ground at Lord's and a key role in a series win; Simpson would be forgiven for being content especially given the talent to come in and the enormous competition for places. Having been given a taste of the big time and an insight into what is needed at this level, it isn't in his character to leave it there.

"There would be some disappointment if I'm unable to kick on and get more games," he stated. "It has given me a real kick up the backside and made me realise that I'm in the shop window now.

"If I didn't play again I'd no doubt still be proud but there would be a bit of disappointment. Three caps for England, no one can take that away from you. I want to play more and for me it is going to be a big winter, looking at areas I can improve and areas that I need to get better on."

Simpson barely had time to reflect on his England experience before he was thrust into more unfamiliar surroundings at Northern Superchargers in the men's Hundred. One hundred and fifty-two runs and eight dismissals in seven matches later a man from Bury was the toast of Headingley.

"It was a pretty surreal and an amazing feeling," he explained. "The Western Terrace going mad. We've seen plenty of guys from Lancashire be successful at Yorkshire and vice versa. It is an incredible atmosphere at Headingley when it is packed out as it was during The Hundred.

Brilliant from John Simpson!#ENGvPAKpic.twitter.com/LX13XM37yH

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) July 10, 2021

"Darren Gough said while on commentary 'you're now a Yorkshire legend'. I started laughing. It is quite strange, Lancashire lads being loved at Yorkshire during The Hundred but you realise just what a special place Headingley is when it's a full house.

"There are not many grounds in the world that have that atmosphere. Even just being around the Yorkshire staff as well it was quite amusing."

There were some spectacular highs during a campaign that saw the Superchargers fail to reach the playoffs. A huge six into the second tier completed victory over Oval Invincibles on a raucous Saturday night in Leeds, before Manchester Originals arrived a dozen days later.

One of the great dynamics of The Hundred was watching county players face off against one another. This defacto derby saw close friends Simpson and Steven Finn square off. A penultimate set of five that went for 29 made up part of Simpson's breathtaking 71 from 28 balls as the Superchargers became the only side to reach 200 in the competition.

"It was an incredible moment," he admitted. "The atmosphere was electric. When I came in we got off to such a good start and that allowed us to be quite aggressive during that middle period. But I never thought I'd be getting 71 off 28 balls. 

"It was strange as I sort of fed off the crowd a little bit. I had a chat with (coach Darren) Lehmann and he said what he thought of the last 45 deliveries and what he thought a good score would be. Getting 200 was a pretty incredible achievement and being the first team to do that was amazing from a team perspective. 

"I had a clear idea of what I needed to do and how to do it but unfortunately that came with mixed feelings. A very good friend of mine, Steven Finn, that I took for 29 but I've spent so much time with him I almost knew what he was going to bowl before he did. 

"Last season's T20 Blast, him being captain and me being vice-captain we spoke a lot about how best to use and what deliveries he should bowl at certain times so I felt as though I knew what he was going to bowl.

^{Simpson's family is decked in sporting success}

"Did I think he'd go for 29? Not in a million years but it was one of those days where everything seemed to hit the middle of the bat and it goes to the boundary.

"We had an embrace at the end of the game and a chat for 5-10 minutes afterwards. If he had knocked my middle stump out of the ground and sent it cartwheeling he'd have had no mixed feelings whatsoever. He'd have given me a send-off knowing him.

"Every home game we had at Headingley it was an amazing atmosphere. When you do play in front of 22,000 fans and they're all die-hard Yorkshire fans and they start chanting 'Yorkshire, Yorkshire'. As a player, you do feed off that and the adrenaline."

**

International and franchise success was light relief compared to the trials at Middlesex, who endured a wretched campaign across the formats. They finish one place off the bottom in their respective T20 Blast and One-Day Cup groups and dropped into Division C in the Championship after finishing bottom of Group 2. They salvaged second place thanks to September wins over Derbyshire, Sussex and Worcestershire, but it was otherwise a campaign of few positives which ended Stuart Law's tenure as head coach.

"It was a season of two halves," Simpson explained. "In the last four or five games, we played some really good cricket. That was really pleasing. 

"We've got some young lads but even though we were rebuilding I don't think of them as young players anymore. Most of them have played 50+ games for Middlesex. For me is about them contributing as best as they can and myself, Tim Murtagh, Sam Robson, Toby Roland-Jones doing the bulk of the work. When these guys chip in that's great. 

"Could it have been a different story had we beaten Somerset in that first game at Lord's? That set everything off really. To lose that first game was pretty detrimental to be in the position and for them to chase down 285. That is a game we should never have lost. 

"The Hampshire game we weren't at the races, Mohammad Abbas got a hat-trick, then we were back down to Taunton and the same happened (first innings collapse). 

This will give you that #FridayFeeling 🤩@JohnSimpson_88 faced 28 balls last night - he hit 13 of them for either four or six 🤯#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/CyqdVJ4gZx

— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 13, 2021

"If we look at the whole season we haven't done ourselves justice with the bat. We rely too much on the bowlers to get us out of jail. When we have got scores on the board the bowlers haven't bowled as well as they should have done. There are a lot of shortcomings there but a lot of positives as well.

"It is about putting in performances consistently and that is something we have not been able to do since 2016. The hard reality is we haven't been good enough in these last five years to be competing in any competition. That has got to change. 

"A lot of other counties around the country adapt to situations better and more quickly than we do and recognise situations better than we do. 

"We have young players but they've played a lot of games for Middlesex in two or three formats but it is about the senior guys doing the bulk of the work but as a group being more consistent and having that appetite and that hunger to win games of cricket. We're coasting."

It is a reasoned and yet cutting takedown of Middlesex's recent failings from a well-respected figure from within the dressing room. By all accounts, Simpson was receptive to Law's hardline approach but a fresh voice, whoever that might be, will be warmly welcomed by others.

**

Simpson is the fourth generation from his family to play elite sport. Great-grandfather Walter Gowers played fullback for Rochdale Hornets and was selected on a Great Britain tour to Australasia between the wars.

His grandfather Ken went one step further, playing 14 times for GB. Father Jack then played lacrosse for England, appearing at a number of major tournaments including the world championships in Australia in 1990, when the team finished fourth.

That is quite an act to follow, and there is no doubt Simpson knows it.

"You always want to do justice to your great grandad, grandad and father," he admitted. There is no easy road to the top. 

"You always want to do your family justice but there is an expectation in any walk of life. Whether it be the family name or not there is always an expectation.

"I just wanted to be as good as I could be in whatever that would be. In cricket, I didn't want to waste the talent and genes that I've been given."

Simpson doesn't need much encouragement to start waxing lyrical about his other passion. Golf is the second sport of so many cricketers - "cricket gets in the way," he jokes - used to fill the downtime between matches and as a distraction from the pressures of their job.

"I love switching off from being John Simpson the cricketer," he says. "I can go out there with a bunch of mates and not think about cricket. It is one of those games I am really fascinated by.

^{Bryson Dechambeau has transformed his approach and physique in pursuit of domination}

Naturally, Simpson is instantly drawn to American player Bryson Dechambeau, nicknamed the 'Mad Scientist' due to his unique methods which include cutting down his clubs to the same length. He also put on 20 pounds of muscle to help increase distance off the tee.

Julian Wood is the leading research into the physics behind power hitting, and Simpson says cricket can learn plenty from its golfing cousin.

"There are certain elements of my batting and golf swing that I use for T20 and power-hitting, and visa versa," he said. "Whether that is good for my golf I don't know. I look at someone like Bryson Dechambeau who is an incredible golfer who is now competing in long drive. 

"I know there are people involved in Julian Wood, power-hitting and baseball. Whether there are certain elements of a golf swing that are transferable to batting. I think there are some similarities and some elements that can be used.

"Look at someone like Liam Livingstone. He hits the ball a country mile and you can see with his batting the power. Bryson hits a golf ball 340 yards on average and he's doing something so different to everyone else.

"When he turns it on with a driver other guys can't compete with him. He's taking different lines that other guys can't do. His game has evolved. Whether there are elements that can convert to the cricket swing when it comes to power-hitting. A lot of my power-hitting swing comes from my golf swing so there is some crossover there.

"The Dechambeau of cricket? I'm not sure I can hit the ball as far. With modern-day bats and timing, the ball goes a long way anyway. I like to think of myself as a more elegant timer of a cricket ball than Dechambeau is when he's trying to hit it 400 yards. 

"There are things that cricket can look at within the golf swing. The guys are doing good at clearing the rope with timing, revere sweeps and ramps. When you're that good why would you need to hit the ball 130 meters as Livingstone does?"