There is a Ben Foakes story told by his childhood coach Tony Stubbs, who has watched him since he was six years old and is still in touch. It is his terrain maintenance skills that have taken the breath away from Indian fans. It dates back to when Foakes was about 15 years old. “I once jokingly told him to move slowly. You are too fast for the referees! “
Turns out the teen was upset that the cricket club umpires were missing the hand flashes that would blow the bail with the batters’ rear feet just barely above the ground. Stubbs’ point was perhaps that if the young goalkeeper delayed breaking the stumps a bit, the batters would stumble further and the umpires could catch the infraction. “He was so good, even as a kid. It’s a gift from God, ”says Stubbs, coach of the Foakes ‘Frinton On Sea’ cricket club, which is named after the coastal town of Essex.
A bit like the firing of Rohit Sharma, then. Without the television reruns, Foakes would not have received that distinction; it was too fast with the naked eye. Sharma’s foot was about to lift off the ground and even as he was awaiting the verdict, the hitter had a confident look, perhaps thinking that no one could be that fast. After all, it wasn’t MS Dhoni behind the stumps, but an unpleasant surprise awaited him.
From an early age
Ben Foakes, second from right, kneeling in the front row. Standing behind him is Brother Matt (second from right in the last row). The coach is Tony Stubbs. (Photo courtesy: Tony Stubbs)
However, it’s a catch from when he was 14 that still lingers in Stubbs’ mind. “I can still see it now. He was 14 years old, he was a winner and the batter had trained for the drive. Ben had moved to his right, but came out on the inside edge. But the kid lunged with an amazing razor and lunged to his left to catch an incredible catch. He calmly dusted himself off, threw the ball into the air and walked towards his teammates. He was fielding that day and couldn’t believe he had taken it. As India would have seen him now, he is the best ‘archer in the world! ”. Stubbs purrs with pride.
In a video for his bat sponsor Gray-Nicolls, Foakes talks about his art. “Keeping your head still is the main thing. I was struggling a bit with the wobble. I was getting tense. I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep these [he touches the left and the right shoulder] as heavy as you can. That changed my ‘maintenance’. If you can keep that feeling inside your body, it suddenly becomes a different game. I keep my head on the ball and let the body take care of itself. It is much easier to climb from below. Keeping your head glued to the ball allows you to keep up. “
xxx
When Foakes was five years old, his father Peter took him and his brother Matthew to the club and introduced them to his love of the game. Peter was a referee in the Premier League and had worked in matches with Paul Gascoigne in his day, but died when Foakes was still very young. “It was sudden and a great shock to all of us. Peter was a lovely man, a friend, I remember many nights at the club. His two sons listening to the jokes between Peter and the club members about this and that. I can’t speak for Ben, but cricket probably helped the coping process. He jumped into the game, ”says Stubbs. “Both brothers were very handsome, even as children,” laughs Stubbs.
There is a reason behind that laugh. In the changing room, inside the dressing room of his club, there is a mirror on which reads an inscription: ‘Mirror Mirror on the wall, Foakesy is the most beautiful of all’. Stubbs explains: “Both brothers were preening a bit in front of the mirror, you see!” There is more evidence along the driveway. Located in a tree, a sign reads ‘Ben Foakes Drive’. Underneath, in red and all in capital letters, it says: “But Matthew Foakes is more handsome.”
Dream debut
The siblings are chunky, and it shows in the manic ride Matt took when he found out his brother was going to make his test debut in Sri Lanka in 2018. “He texted me a day before telling me that he will play. the next day, ”he then told the BBC. He immediately rushed to the airport and managed to reach Sri Lanka on the night of the first day when his brother had rescued England 103-for-5 with an 87 undefeated late in the game. “We had dinner that night and I was shaking more than he was. It seemed pretty quiet. I shed a quick tear for him when he hit his hundred. I also had the loudest scream of my life when he got there, ”said Matthew.
His mother Fiona, a teacher who these days mentors academy players at the Essex County Cricket Club, was not so lucky. “I also received a text message. Unfortunately my phone was silent and that was two hours later. I don’t live near the airport. I got home, threw things in a suitcase, and left. I booked my plane tickets on the train to Heathrow, ”he says in the same interview with the BBC. He was in Dubai in transit and following the score online when his son reached one hundred. “I was a clumsy mess. Sleepless and very happy! “And when the talk gets sexy in that interview, her mother jokes,” It comes from the mother! “
Back at the club, delirium and champagne hung in the air. “We were there at 4 am to watch cricket on the big screen as a group,” says Stubbs. “Not sleeping much. Lots of cheer and drinks, although some will say it’s a little early in the day! “He laughs. This Test against India has been relatively calmer, he’s been watching it at home.” Ben owes a lot to his mother, “says Stubbs.” When he got into Essex age group cricket, she did. It would lead on the Frinton to Chelmsford road. It’s not a big road either, there are a lot of accidents frequently.
xxx
The euphoria surrounding the debut was also due to obstacles in the way for Foakes to get there. First, Essex couldn’t find a place for him. “They had James Foster and they didn’t want to play Ben,” says Stubbs. The move to Surrey made things easier as Alec Stewart, in charge of Surrey County cricket, immediately declared him the “best goalkeeper in the world.”
But England would not listen. First, there was Jonny Bairstow and when they started looking past him as a Test goalie, they went for Jos Buttler. Even after the hundredth debut in Sri Lanka, Foakes was left in the cold soon after. He went back to county cricket, but Frinton was furious. “Amazing, really, that they didn’t give it a chance. What else did I need to do? “Stubbs gets rhetorical.
Check out the Frinton club’s Twitter feed for the past few years. Humorous complaints about Foakes’ absence from the England team are a recurring theme. The video clips of its maintenance are Gif-ed. Messages are sent to selectors. Charming parochialism has never looked better. “Local mentality?” Stubbs sneezes. “He is the BEST GUARDIAN in the world!” Another laugh. Every now and then he would come back from Surrey to play a club game, especially when he was in trouble. “In 2014, he took us out of the descent. Now, we are in a successful place. ”Foakes’s image is taped to the clubhouse bar clock, the hands of time circling his face.
There is a cliché about goalkeepers: “A good” goalkeeper goes unnoticed. You only see them when they are wrong ”. That line can be trashed for Foakes and an additional fee can be charged to tickets to say: come see Foakes keep.
.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.