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Teenager Matthew Fisher turned his thoughts to schoolwork and a pending French oral exam after becoming the youngest cricketer in 91 years to play in a competitive English county match on Sunday. |
The seamer, aged 15 years and 212 days, turned out for Yorkshire in a three-wicket defeat by Leicestershire and took one for 40 from seven overs as well as scoring 10 runs off four balls.
He broke the previous mark for a youngest player, set by Glamorgan’s Royston Gabe-Jones in 1922, by 62 days.
Fisher had been allowed to postpone his French oral in order to play, with his teachers wishing him luck and watching the match.
“I was supposed to do an exam but thankfully I contacted my teacher and he told me I could re-schedule it for another day — I was gutted about that as you can imagine,” he told the BBC. “I’m not sure when the exam will be yet but hopefully I will have some time to prepare.”
The youngest ever to appear in a county game remains Charles Young, who was 15 years and 131 days old when he played for Hampshire against Kent in 1867, 23 years before the county championship was established. The youngest player to appear in a first-class game also turned out for Yorkshire — wicketkeeper Barney Gibson was 15 years and 27 days old when he faced Durham MCCU in April 2011.
Fisher, with the third ball of his second spell, a full-pitched delivery, trapped Shiv Thakor lbw for a duck to bring the North Marine Road crowd to its feet. But he was unable to prevent the Vikings from slipping to a three-wicket defeat.
"I loved it," Fisher said. "It was a great experience, with the crowd behind me as well. It was absolutely brilliant. You've got to try and enjoy these occasions. I tried to do my skills right and perform well. It was a very proud and emotional moment when I got my wicket. Hopefully I can carry on and maybe get some more."
Having been on the books at Yorkshire since the age of 10, Fisher earned his selection to the side after picking up six for 25 in a seven-over spell for the second XI earlier this week. Matthew Hoggard was one of his victims as the GCSE pupil ran through Leicestershire second team's lower order, taking three wickets in one over.
Yorkshire, celebrating their 150th anniversary, are clearly eager to blood new talent and Fisher is excited to be part of a youthful set-up spearheaded by the Australian coach Jason Gillespie. He was one of four teenagers to take the field for a fresh-faced Vikings side, along with Will Rhodes, Ben Coad and another debutant, Ryan Gibson.
Gillespie was pleased with how Fisher acquitted himself on his historic day. "Jimmy Anderson is his idol and he's got a couple of idiosyncrasies there," he said. "He's a talented young bowler. I was absolutely chuffed when he got his wicket. He bowled really well."