The ex-England, Yorkshire and Leicestershire seamer picks out the moments which shaped his outstanding career
The step up
3rd XI to 1st XI, Pudsey Congs CC, 1994
A big moment for me was being taken from the 3rd XI and being put into the 1st XI by Phil Carrick. I was 17 when he made that decision and within two years I was playing for Yorkshire. That was a massive point in my life. Phil came into my club, Pudsey Congs, and set me on the road for Yorkshire. He saw something in me. That year we had a young overseas professional called VVS Laxman and he said you two will play Test cricket against each other and we both laughed at him, but he was right, we did play Tests against each other. Unfortunately, he passed away before it came to fruition but if it hadn’t been for Phil, I don’t think I’d be here talking to you now.
The breakthrough
4-39
Yorkshire v Surrey, Benson & Hedges Cup, quarter-final, Headingley, 2000
It’s not talked about often but a performance against Surrey in the quarter-final of the Benson & Hedges Cup at Headingley did a lot to get me noticed. It rained a lot and I managed to get four wickets – Butcher, Brown, Thorpe and Hollioake – and everybody started talking about me playing for England. So that was a big moment in that respect. It put me on people’s radar.
The first scalp
3-79 & 3-93
England v Pakistan, 2nd Test, Old Trafford, 2001
I was fairly quick to 50 wickets. I wasn’t the fastest of all time but I think I was in the top 10 or something, so yeah it wasn’t too bad a start to Test cricket. My first wicket at Old Trafford, it wasn’t hitting the second set but I think the umpire wanted to get off for tea. That was a big moment – Younis Khan, not too shabby.
The tour success
7-63 & 1-142
New Zealand v England, 1st Test, Christchurch, 2002
On one of my first tours I managed to pick up seven in Christchurch. That was an interesting Test match: Andrew Flintoff scored his debut ton, Graham Thorpe scored the fifth-fastest double hundred on record, Nasser Hussain scored a hundred and then Nathan Astle scored the fastest ever double hundred and kept smacking Caddy [Andrew Caddick] out of the park. I got him out to win the game with a slower ball that he edged behind to the keeper. It was a fantastic Test match for all the right reasons; drop-in pitch, hard work to get runs in the first innings and then a run-fest in the second innings. It was good fun.
The hat-trick
1-34 & 4-35
West Indies v England, 3rd Test, Barbados, 2004
Yeah, I couldn’t forget Barbados. I was the 10th Englishman to get a hat-trick. To follow in the footsteps of people like Goughie [Darren Gough] and Corky [Dominic Cork] was nice. My last ball in that hat-trick was a wrong delivery actually. I got Sarwan’s wicket with an out-swinger that got the edge and was
