James Tredwell – Thoughts for the Season

A special report from Harry Wall,a local student who has been assisting the Club this week.

James Tredwell is a vital member of the Kent squad, as the main spinner. His performances have seen him capped by England, attaining a man of the match performance against the West Indies in the 2010 World Cup. More recently he was called up for the winter tour to Sri Lanka; he didn’t play in Asia but is back for the County season with Kent, who have made a great start to the season with the only disappointment being the loss to the Unicorns on Sunday in the CB40 competition.

Ispoke to Tredwell at the close on day two of the LV County Championship division two match against Leicestershire, a match which Kent will hope to win following Mike Powell’s unbeaten century, backing up Matt Coles’ five wicket haul the day before. Tredwell himself will start day three, 21 runs away from a half century. But he’s not taking anything for granted in this match.

“There’s a long way to go first, we’re in a decent position but we’re also going to have to bowl really well second time round because it’s a good wicket and we’ve managed to get 400/6. So it’s going to be a tougher task second time round, we’ve got to focus on that now.”

Tredwell, or Pingu as he’s nicknamed in the dressing room was called up to England’s test side for their tour to Sri Lanka. The visitors managed to keep their number one in the world test status but the spinner had mixed thoughts on the tour.

“It was very good but obviously in a way it was quite frustrating carrying the drinks, but it’s a great environment to be in at the moment, obviously we’re the number one in the world and I’ve been round some fantastic players and you learn a hell of a lot bowling in the nets and being around that setup. Hopefully that stands me in good stead.”

England head coach Andy Flower is clearly impressed with Tredwell but competition for involvement in the spin department is fierce given the likes of Graeme Swann who is England’s main spinner across the board but also thosesuch asMonty Panesar, Samit Patel, and more recently some of the younger playersincluding Hampshire’s Danny Briggs who are vying for a place. When asked about whether he had discussions with the England management on his position, here’s what he had to say.

“Not really, there are on-going conversations when you’re involved, there’s someone pretty good in Graeme Swann standing in my way at the moment doing the same sort of role, at the moment I've got to hope for something to come my way. I need to keep my performances coming.”

The start of the season has been a slow one for spinners up and down the county circuit due to the pitches tending to be seamer friendly conditions and Tredwell didn’t get the chance to bowl in the first innings of the current game.

“This year has been a bit different to others; this is already the seventh game at this time of year, so it’s a bit more frustrating this time around than it has beenin years gone by, but you’ve got to be adaptable not only to the conditions but also to different forms of the game in the English domestic season, so it is tough.”

Last season in the Twenty 20 in particular, Tredwell had great success keeping the opposition's run rate down and taking key wickets in the middle overs in tandem with Adam Ball and Darren Stevens. The T20 campaign is quickly appearing on the horizon in amongst the hectic schedule.

“After this game we haven’t got another until next Friday so we have got a bit of time to hone our skills a little bit before that game and our forthcoming Twenty 20 stuff, there’s a County Championship game in the middle but that’s probably the best time to maybe focus on those skills.”

With only one loss in seven thus far and with the team in a strong position, the leadership of Jimmy Adams is paying off thus.

“We’ve shown that we can do really well this season, we’ve played some really good cricket in all forms so far, he (Adams) has bought in a new method with the way he goes about things and he’s passing it onto the team, it’s looking good at the moment, we’ve played a fair few games but there’s a hell of a lot of Cricket to come in the season, if we stick to our process we should be alright.”

The County game is sometimes critisised in terms of its scheduling, I asked Tredwell for this thoughts on this.

“It’s a tough one. The powers that be need to get the Twenty 20 in a period where the kids and families can get through the gates. Its slightly disappointing that we’ve played seven games at this time of year, but saying that, the weather last year was fantastic through April and May and the weather this year has been a bit unfortunate, but that’s the way it is unfortunately.”

Finally, last year saw Canterbury host the first ever day-night County Championship with a pink ball, although he didn’t play in that game I was keen to find out Tredwell’s view on the matter given that the use of floodlights was backed by possible England Captain to be, Alastair Cook recently.

“I think the floodlights are certainly getting better around the country and certainly these here at Canterbury are fantastic. I’d guess the ones at Lords and some of the other Test grounds are as good and if not, better. The only thing in this country is the dew and things like that, but if it’s what the spectator wants then ultimately that’s what you’ve got to go for because they’re the ones that pay to come and watch.”

Photo: Sarah Ansell SarahCanterbury.com