"Any player would have wanted to play like him. But above all, they would have wanted his smile" – A tribute to Lee Nurse

ALEX NAREY pays tribute to Lee Nurse, the former Berkshire batsman, who died on April 9 at the age of 43 due to Covid-19

Small in stature but big in heart, Lee Harvey Nurse always found a way to stand out from the crowd. The former Berkshire opening batsman – whose great uncle Seymour Nurse represented the West Indies in 29 Test matches and who could also count Malcolm Marshall as his godfather – passed away on April 9 after contracting Covid-19. He was 43 years old.

As a sign of Lee’s wider popularity and proud cricketing heritage, tributes from former and current pros have been far and wide. But it is in and around his hometown of Basingstoke where ‘Nursey’s’ passing has been most cruelly felt. He was the beating heart of the May’s Bounty club for the best part of 20 years where he had also carved a highly impressive career within the hard-nosed ranks of the Home Counties Premier League.

It was at Berkshire, though, during a nine-year stint from 1997 to 2006, where he played his most senior cricket, representing the county with distinction and great character.

Julian Wood, the former Hampshire player and Lee’s captain with the Stags, had been in close contact with the family after he had been admitted to Basingstoke & North Hants hospital. Despite no underlying health issues, his condition steadily declined before Wood was delivered the fateful news.

“Lee was the most wonderful person – a pleasure to captain and a close friend,” says Wood. “He played for Berkshire when the county was built on strong characters and Lee was right at the heart of that. He was a brilliant batsman, but his impact in the changing room was immense.”

His death brings many personal reflections, having known him first as a teenage opponent but secondly, and more importantly, as a friend. His reputation as someone to look out for had preceded my first sighting, which came at an under-13s game back in 1988. Lee’s tight, curly hair complementing a cheeky grin as he dragged a kit bag that was twice his size across the car park of Hartley Wintney Cricket Club; dad Leon six steps ahead, turning to urge his son to hurry up.

Our paths continued to cross. He was playing colt cricket in a higher age bracket but as good as he was, he was still ‘Little Lee’ – a moniker he almost relished. With every cut, pull, drive and flick, he was sending a message: don’t judge me by my size, judge me by my talent.

That talent had already been recognised by Hampshire, where he moved seamlessly through the age groups. Even as a 16-year-old, sharing a Basingstoke changing room with such distinguished senior players, there was little that would faze him. Lee knew how to handle the biggest characters on the pitch but, more importantly, how to relate to them off it. He was a natural communicator.

Jon Govett, another former Berkshire player who was a long-time team-mate, recalls a youthful swagger that was never lost.

“When I first saw Lee, I knew there was something special there,” says Govett. “I was helping out at Basingstoke’s juniors, assisting my dad. Even the way he walked into the nets, at 12 or 13, he looked good. He was the best I had seen at that age.”

Among a litany of highlights and hundreds that followed over the years, Govett remembers one particular innings of 81 against High Wycombe, defying an onslaught as others would succumb to an attack spearheaded by the raw pace of a certain Nantie Hayward. But he says Lee was at his best, and always at his happiest, while batting with his close friend and opening partner, Ian Maynard, another former Hampshire and minor counties batsman who had also played for England under-19s.

For Maynard, it was an inseparable bond.

“In any team picture or celebration shots, it was always me and Lee,” says Maynard. “We were very close, and we relished our positions at the top of the order where you could always influence a game.

“Lee was a wonderful player; his batting was very compact against pace and he was also a very good player of spin, very wristy.

“When we were batting, we just had such a great understanding. So much so, that in all the years we played together, we never called for a run. It just clicked.”

Wood, meanwhile, highlights one innings for Berkshire – and one scenario – that perhaps best summed up both the talent and personality.

“You have to understand, even during the early 2000s, it was a different era,” says Wood. “We had an away game at Bournemouth, met the night before, all went out and had a drink. Next morning, and Lee’s in a bad way. We get to the ground, but Lee can’t even manage the warm-up. I win the toss and it’s a good wicket; we’re batting. I go in the changing room and Lee is on his back. I tell him he has to go out and make a score.

“He sticks his pads on, still feeling terrible, reassures me he’ll be ok and then goes out and scores 130. That epitomised Lee. A major player on and off the pitch.”

A father to Rilee, a son to Leon and Christine, a brother to Dean and a friend to so many.

Lee Nurse, whose death has left a hole in the community he adorned, will be missed dearly by all who were fortunate enough to know him

Growing up as a cricket-mad kid in the 1980s, I, like so many others, handpicked my heroes through a television set. But as time goes by and the landscape of your life changes, the people who really have an influence are those you get to share a field with.

Your hero may be a coach who introduced you to the game, or a captain who has taken you under his wing. Nursey was one of mine. Any player would have wanted to play like him. But above all, they would have wanted his smile. That will always be his greatest asset.

^{Image: Nurse family / Basingstoke Gazette}