How long have you been a professional cricketer now? I've been in at Derbyshire for ten years. I've enjoyed every minute of it and long may it continue! How did you get started? I used to come down and watch with my dad. I even operated the scoreboard a couple of times! I went to the 1993 B&H Final and then played for the Derbyshire Colts. I got signed on after that. What are your best memories of your time at Derbyshire? Scoring the winning runs when we beat Australia down here in 1997. That was nice. Also, playing in the Natwest Final in 1998 was a fantastic experience. I've had a few fallow years since then but hopefully we're starting to drag it around now. What do you do when you're not playing cricket? I come down to the gym quite a lot. We've got the new indoor centre so we practice down there quite a lot. I also like horse-racing and football and I like a bet every now and then! So you're a bit of a gambler? Well I worked for Ladbrokes full-time before I started playing cricket and I've maintained the interest ever since. Do you fancy running a bookies one day? Yeah maybe but there's a lot more online betting these days so I might get into something along those lines. What's been your best winning bet so far? Well it hasn't come in yet but I've put a bet on the Ivory Coast to win the World Cup next year. They're 750-1 but they've got Didier Drogba up front so they've got half a chance! What movies and music do you like? I like the Stereophonics and a bit of dance music. As for movies, I like Austin Powers and Bond films. Who are the characters at Derbyshire? We've still got Karl Krikken involved with things here. He's the main practical joker. He'd send army recruitment forms to your house and underwear catalogues. Who do you room with on away trips? I've got a bad record with room-mates! The first was Chris Adams who left and went to Sussex. Then it was AJ Harris who went to Notts and after that it was Matt Cassar who went to Northants. Then it was Liam Wharton who got released! So whoever rooms with me seems to be cursed! But this season I've roomed with a variety of people - Steve Stubbings, Ant Botha and Nick Walker so far. They'll be alright though. You’ve had some bad luck with injuries haven't you? Yeah - when I get injured I seem to be out for a long time. I had my back injury six years ago and last year it was the knee operation. But apart from that I've been OK. Between 2001 and 2004 I played 52 consecutive county championship games. Is life as a professional cricketer everything you'd hoped for? Definitely. First of all you get paid to play sport - which is a big privilege in the first place. Secondly you get to travel and stay in hotels with the lads. When old pros retire they always say they miss the craic with the other lads. You must have met some great characters in your time with the club. Yes when I came in 1996 there was Dean Jones, Chris Adams, Kim Barnett, Dominic Cork, Phil De Freitas and Devon Malcolm. Walking into the dressing room as a 19-year-old you pick up a lot. I'm still friends with Corky and get texts about football every now and then. He's been a bit quiet recently now Derby are doing better than Stoke City. He did well against Derbyshire last year - you must be itching to get revenge? Well we play him in the Twenty20 Cup soon so we'll have a plan for him then! Interview by Charles Collins | 
