BBC SPORT | Cricket | Counties | Yorkshire | Hamilton misery more than most



By Kevin Howells BBC Sport

It's been a dreadful year for Yorkshire's all-rounders.

Gary Fellows is no longer considered for the Championship and Craig White says he will re-evaluate his game at the end of the season, admitting sustained bowling has become a real problem for him.

But spare an extra moment to imagine the despair of Gavin Hamilton.

Gavin Hamilton
Hamilton has not bowled since mid-June
Twenty-seven years of age Hamilton could and should have been pressing for a place in England's World Cup squad in South Africa next year.

Instead he is not even playing for Yorkshire but sits watching his team-mates from the pavilion at Scarborough.

"At least I'm enjoying my cricket again now," he tells me, but casts an eye to the middle and adds, "That's probably because I'm not bowling."

Something is seriously wrong. In Gavin's case his confidence is so low he hasn't the nerve to step up and bowl.

The last time he tried, he managed just one over, of 12 balls for 17 runs which included five wides and a no ball against Sussex at Headingley.

Kirtley leads Yorks rout

That was it. Captain for the day Richard Blakey asked him to come back for a second over and Gavin politely declined.

I simply didn't want to bowl and that is what annoys me most

Gavin Hamilton

Talking to him this week I asked him why.

His team-mates were willing him on and, as painful as it was to watch, the Yorkshire supporters realised their man was in trouble and wanted him to come through this block of whatever it was.

But all this support is also taking its toll on Hamilton.

"It's great for me that people want me to do well and encourage me," he says.

"But in a way that can make matters worse because it felt awful when I simply didn't want to bowl and that is what annoys me most."

You will notice that to this point we have not mentioned what is wrong with Gavin.

We could be dismissing the problem as the yips but it's more than that according to the player himself.

Dealing with the yips

He either chooses, or finds it impossible, to explain further but has spoken to others, also at a high level of the game, to whom the same thing has happened.

Their advice? Nothing, except that recovery is a long process.

Hamilton on tour with England
Three years ago, Hamilton was a bright prospect for England
Work with a psychologist has helped a little but Gavin says it requires more than that.

"It's up to me," he says. "I could bowl in the next two weeks but I know I'm not right. It could set me back again."

It's the same Gavin as I've known for many years. Confident in his conversation and still able to smile and laugh, he's not written himself off so neither must we.

His season is symptomatic of Yorkshire's damaging decline: there's a problem, we can all see it, we know it's happened to others before.

But what exactly this problem is and how it can be corrected appears to be a puzzle without solution available to those charged with finding it.

A summer of relegation will lead to a winter of discontent, the financial implications of which will become clearer in the next few months.

Yorkshire Uncovered can be heard on Thursdays on BBC Radio Five Live's Ian Payne Show (7.00-10.00pm). Next instalment: 15 August.


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