Breese High on Durham Experience
Gareth Breese left Durham at the end of this year's season a very happy man. When his one year 2004 contract was renewed for a further two years, he thought that was a great deal. But the English county club located in the cold north of England, sent him back to sunny Jamaica with a signed contract which will see him playing with them until 2007.
"I guess they're fairly happy with what is happening," said a smiling Breese in an in-depth interview with CaribbeanCricket.com. Thanks to his father's British nationality, Breese does not count as one of the two overseas players each club is allowed to contract.
As someone who thinks of the glass as 'half full' rather than 'half empty', the Jamaican off-spinner looks back at his non-selection after only one Test match in India as probably the reason for getting the opportunity to play with Durham.
"All I'd ever wanted to do was to play for the West Indies since I was a little boy and I wanted to get back," said Breese, remembering how he felt after not being selected for the Bangladesh tour which followed the tour of India in 2002 . "I don't think anybody wants to play one Test and never play again."
Wanting to get away from that huge disappointment, Breese went to England to play in the leagues. Sensing his frustration, his new agent Craig Saccfield was hesitant about asking him whether he would consider county cricket. "I decided I wanted to play the highest level of cricket I could play, so if I could play first class cricket for Jamaica and then play first class cricket in England then I think I'm playing the highest level I can play," said Breese in explaining his decision.
A spot on Durham's second XI was organized for the summer of 2003 and although the former West Indies U-19 captain did not excel, he was invited back. By the time he was leaving England that September, Gareth Breese was in possession of a one-year deal.
In the 2005 season, Breese and his team mates helped secure promotion to Division One of the Frizzell County Championships. Durham finished second to Lancashire in Division Two. Durham also gained promotion to the top tier of the one day domestic tournament. In 16 first class matches this season, the all-rounder took 27 wickets to be joint third for his club, at an average of 35.81. This included two five wicket hauls. In the runs department, Breese finished with the fifth highest number ? 661 ? and an average of 33.05.
This year, two current West Indies players ? Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan ? had their first taste of county cricket. This kind of experience has been touted as the reason that West Indies dominated two decades of cricket. Most of the players of that era played first class cricket in England . Sarwan has heaped praises on his Gloucestershire experience as the reason for his prolific performance with the bat recently.
Breese agrees that playing on the first class circuit in England can help the West Indian cricketer tremendously. "It tightens up your game. It's a very professional set up to be getting up playing cricket day in, day out. If you're not playing, you're travelling, you're training and it brings that kind of professionalism out of you to know that this is your job, regardless."
"You can't wake up tired and say 'oh I don't feel like I can make it today.' You have to get in the frame of mind to play because you're going to be playing sometimes six or seven days a week," Breese said.
A typical week for him may be to play a four day game from Tuesday to Friday, travel on Saturday by coach, and play a one day match on Sunday. Then Monday would be the start of another first class match. "You usually play at least five days a week. That would be an easy week. In a case like that you'd probably get one day off and then practice the other day," he explained.
According to Breese, everything is at the player's disposal to enhance his performance. "If you want to work hard at your game, everything is there for you to work hard at your game ? indoor nets, outdoor nets, nets in the middle, bowling machines, gear, a lot of balls, you can't run out of balls to practice with." Breese emphasized the issue of balls. Currently in Jamaica, sometimes there is a shortage of balls which according to Breese, makes practice "a little bit uncomfortable."
Durham held their pre-season camp in the hot Middle Eastern country of Dubai. It was Breese's first and he describes it as being more of a team building exercise.
Despite the contract extension through 2007, Breese is not totally satisfied with his returns so far. "I still think I can do more. I still think there is a lot I am learning playing in England; a lot I am learning not only about English conditions but playing first class cricket on the whole," was his assessment.
Breese describes the English county cricket experience like this. "It's different; it's professional; it's organized. It's really just a good set up. Facilities are second to none. Everything is just there for you to perform."
In short, all the things that cricket in the West Indies is not, but Breese understands that the huge differential in cash between a Third World country and a First World one, accounts for some of this gap. However he said "I understand why we have shortages here but still, professionalism, there is not much to be paid for it."
The tag line of the famous fast food chain sums up exactly how Breese feels about playing professional cricket in England. "I'm loving it, I'm loving it," he beamed.