Jane Cable meets Australian all rounder Ian Harvey at The Rose Bowl

When Shane Watson was called up to play for Australia, Hampshire had lost their chance to field the best player in the IPL. So who better to replace him than the best ICL player, Australian all rounder Ian Harvey? Following his outstanding performances in India, did he expect an English county to come knocking on his door?

“I suppose in the back of your mind, you want to play again and you’d like to do it,” said Ian. “I wasn’t holding my breath – there’s a lot of talent around the world, and obviously Shane was their first option. But for me, personally, to come here following the other Shane that’s been here for the last few years… you hear the stories – it’s a great place to play, a great bunch of blokes. I’ve played at The Rose Bowl a few times and it’s a great set up, somewhere you turn up and you want to perform.

“I hope to bring my experience of playing Twenty20 cricket in different conditions; for a couple of counties and then over in the ICL. There’s lots of different opinions on how you should play it and I don’t think anyone around the world has definitely got the right formula at the moment and I think everyone’s still trying to work it out. Some sides are closer than others! So hopefully I’ll bring my experience, and if I can perform well and contribute to a few wins that would be great as well. It’s not all about what happens on the field; it’s about what happens off the field too. There are a lot of youngsters here so it’s a great opportunity – something I really didn’t think would happen for me again.”

Since the ICL finished in April Ian has been keeping himself fit by playing a few games for the PCA Masters (who were roundly beaten by the Hampshire Academy at The Rose Bowl on Tuesday night) and by doing a spot of decorating. “I’m quite lucky there hasn’t been a massive gap in between tournaments,” he said. “I’m ready to go. I’ve got to cross my fingers and hope that by five o’clock my registration will have come through. Oh, yes, I’ll be ready to play – don’t worry about that – hopefully the weather will be good, there’ll be a big crowd and we’ll put on a great show.”

 Harvey's debut fielding for the Hawks against the Middlesex Crusaders

Provide Feedback