There are youngsters on this tour and two of them, Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed, are competing to open the batting for the Test side. That said, none of them match the youthful fearlessness and enthusiasm of Gareth Batty, who was 39 on Thursday.
Batty’s head is balding, and no amount of product will mask his wrinkles, but his zeal for cricket is not fraying – the spirit, snarl and send-offs remain in abundance as soon as he steps on to the field. Some may take convincing but he is very charming off the pitch.
The opening day of England’s warmup schedule, which comprises two two-day games against a BCB XI, was called off due to a sodden outfield at the MA Aziz Stadium, across the road from the team’s hotel. Few seemed perturbed – it is hoped that 45-overs-per-side will be possible on Saturday as well as a two-day game from Sunday. Instead, they had their first full training session – an exhaustive four-hour job in the heat of day, and Batty was a typically busy presence, comparing notes with Adil Rashid and encouraging all and sundry.
Six months ago the idea of Batty touring seemed as likely to be in the role of coach as player. While he is now expected to be in the XI for the first Test from Thursday (England have played 142 since the last of his seven, against Bangladesh at the Riverside in 2005, the largest number between caps ever), he also has a mentoring role here. Two of the other three spinners are very familiar to him, with Moeen Ali a former colleague at Worcester and Zafar Ansari his partner at Surrey. As divisive as it was (particularly in the West Country, home to the 60-wicket spinner Jack Leach), Batty’s selection was a wise one. England have picked one spinner, at least, who fully knows his game. The others are very much still learning.
Batty thought his England days were done and since his recall has spent plenty of time grinning. He feels he has nothing to lose and plenty to gain, including the chance to have a Test legacy beyond being the man Brian Lara swept for a single at Antigua in 2004 to become the first man to reach 400 in Tests.
“This is brilliant to be part of,” Batty said. “There’s a wonderful vibe about the place, I noticed that from stepping on the plane with the Test boys, there’s a great camaraderie. It’s a great privilege to be involved with. I hope I can add to that.
“I didn’t [think I’d be back]. And I’m not the sort of to make sweeping statements – you just go with what’s put in front of you, and every single day you work your hardest to be better, and you never know. This is a nice opportunity when you’re nearing the end of your career.”
Batty takes the Surrey captaincy, and the game generally, very seriously. When some extra growl is required around the bat, he checks in at short-leg; when pitches are flat – which is often the case at The Oval – he shoulders the bowling; when a team-mate is picked on, he bites back hardest. Certainly he is fazed by little, including playing with folk 20 years his junior.
“It’s the norm,” he said. “There are boys at Surrey who are even younger. I’d like to think everybody takes the age out of it. They see the wrinkles in the morning and think he’s an old sod, but for the rest of the time hopefully I’m just one of the boys.”
What England’s enthusiastic oldster appears to relish the most is the centrality of spin in this part of the world, with five Tests in India before Christmas coming up too. “That’s a positive,” he said. “In England it’s more seam-orientated, so it’s actually really nice that spin will play a part. It’s a challenge and a really good thing for spinners to be able to say: ‘Hang on a minute, we can help to win games of cricket for England.’”
