 Hockley gets hit on the arm on his way to making 46 against Essex in his second County Championship innings since returning
Second comings in sport are rare and do not always make for comfortable viewing. Bjorn Borg dusted off his old wooden racket and spent three years trying to relive the old magic in the early 1990s. He failed to win a single match. Elsewhere, Mike Tyson, Michael Jordan and Kevin Keegan all made returns which could at best be described as ill-advised. But there are exceptions to every rule and James Hockley hopes to make the most of a second chance, not least because unlike all the above he has plenty of unfinished business. Seven years after being unceremoniously dumped by Kent, he has made a remarkable return to the county cricket scene with his old professional alma mater. After he was cast aside by the professional game, Hockley earned a living from teaching and enjoyed playing club cricket, but a chance meeting with Kent captain Robert Key paved the way for the 30-year-old Hockley to get a second shot at the professional game. "It was a complete shock. I saw Keysie at a six-a-side charity day and had a brief chat, but no ideas were given," Hockley told BBC Sport. "I was teaching one afternoon and I had five missed calls from Keysie. I rang him back and he said 'what do you think about coming back next year?'. "The offer was a complete shock and completely out of the blue, but it's one I intend to make the most of." Hockley is not the first cricketer to be released only to come back into the game after a break. Chris Schofield, once England's great spinning hope, is currently playing for Surrey after a spell out the game following his release from Lancashire. Where Hockley differs from Schofield is that he had given up hope of a return.  Hockley pictured in 1999 (left) and 2009 |
His assimilation back into the dressing room has been helped by his friendship with a number of Kent players who are still at the county. "I'm coming back to a team where I know quite a few of the faces and can get back to being friends and talking about how lives have changed. "We have an Ashes winner [Geraint Jones] who was second XI keeper here when I left and who I haven't seen for a while. It's good to catch up on some of the experiences he's had." That Hockley spent so many years in the wilderness is surprising given so many of his fellow pros regard him as a naturally talented batsman. True, a first-class average of 17 in his first spell might have left St Lawrence Ground regulars underwhelmed, but his one-day innings showed potential. A quick-fire 90 against Warwickshire was crucial as Kent won the 2001 National League First Division title. A year later a brilliant 121 from number three - and against a bowling attack featuring Shaun Pollock - led Kent to a huge victory against the same opposition, yet a couple of months later he was deemed surplus to requirements. "I didn't see it coming, when didn't get new contract it was a complete surprise and not a very nice one," recalls Hockley, who after leaving Kent played club cricket with Bexley and Hartley. "I had so much cricket left in me, but opportunities were stopped there and then.  | 606: DEBATE |
"It took a year or so before I went on to take coaching badges, I thought it would be a waste to have so much knowledge of the game and not give it back, I thought that would be a selfish thing to do. "It was very hard to try to stay in cricket - if you need to earn money it's very difficult to just take trials and see what happens." Instead, Hockley took a job as a sports teacher at Marlborough House, a private school in Hawkhurst, situated in the beautiful Weald of Kent. "It's been a fantastic opportunity to teach all aspects of sport and the school has been great, giving me a sabbatical so I can rejoin when the season finishes," said Hockley who is just as enthusiastic about the pupils. "They're great kids, quite mature and very knowledgeable about sport. We have some good cricketers and sportsmen in general. "I love sport, any sport, so it's nice for me to be able to go outside every day and teach the kids. It's such a lovely thing to give your knowledge to someone, that's a nice experience." Teaching is likely to provide Hockley with his future career path, but for now cricket is top of his agenda. He has featured in the opening two rounds of the County Championship and believes his time out of the game has made him more resilient. | I thought it would be a waste to have so much knowledge of the game and not give it back, I thought that would be a selfish thing to do |
"I'm a bit wiser, I've learnt a lot about the game and myself - I was so young and naïve back when I was released," said Hockley. "This year I'm not giving myself too many goals, but I've got to be positive. The first-team squad is very strong, but if I can score runs whatever opportunities I get and force my way in that way that's what I've got to do." And as an attacking batsman with great fielding ability there is one type of cricket he is dying to experience. Twenty20 was introduced a year after he left and Kent have had huge success, reaching the last two Cup finals while the Indian Premier League has brought previously unimagined finance into the game. "That's my form of cricket," adds Hockley, laughing at the suggestion he could have been an IPL millionaire by now had things turned out differently. "The invention of Twenty20 has been outstanding, bringing excitement back into game. It's all my boys go on about at school, it's fantastic it really is." Whatever else happens, 'Sir' will be inundated with questions about his other career when he returns to school later this year.
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