Captain’s Interview - Benedict Cole

New 2nd XI Captain Ben Cole has come back again to tell us about his past experiences as a captain and what he is looking forward to for 2021.

Have you captained a team before? Tell me about that experience.

I've captained teams all through my cricketing career, from age group cricket through to senior and university teams. It's been quite natural for me to take on leadership roles in teams during on field decisions as well as supporting the team and its development off the field. I've always enjoyed it and it's something that I'm hoping I can do more of during my time at West. I've also found it's quite a useful way to make sure you get a game each week!

What have you been doing to keep fit/ busy throughout lock down?

I've never been much of a runner and I've got a few lingering injuries so home work out aren't really on the cards so my fitness is suffering. I have been able to hook up a tennis ball and some string for batting drills so I'll hopefully be in good nick when we can get some cricket in. Other than that, I've gone for the occasional walk when I've realised that my steps for the day are probably only in double digits

What type of captain do you think you are and how do you think you handle pressure situations?

I like to think I'm a pretty calm and relaxed captain. The captain is someone the rest of the team look to to steady the ship in the high pressure moments so I try to make sure I stay relaxed and keep my thoughts nice and clear. There are so many ways to play the game and the hardest part of it is really your mindset so it's important as the captain to keep things clear for batsmen and bowlers. Cracking a few jokes always helps to keep things relaxed.

Cricket has many swings of momentum - how can you stay positive throughout a whole game & what else is different about being a cricket captain compared to other sports?

Context always helps me stay positive. Every time I go out to play I want to win and for the team to do well, but it's important to remember that you play the game to enjoy it. You're getting to spend a day or an evening playing cricket with your mates and that's the important part. Cricket can be a demoralising sport to play and it can be hard to stay positive, but it is only a game and the end of it you can work out what went wrong, how to improve, and then relax and have a drink. Compared to other sports, you do shoulder more of the responsibility. If one of your bowlers has a bad day, you decided whether to keep them on and if an opposition batsman's playing well, it's your responsibility to work out how to slow the rate and get them out. So if the team loses, you need to look at your performance as a captain as well as a player

What is your favourite cricket memory and why?

Probably my first senior ton. I was fifteen and getting used to playing with adults and had a bit of impostor syndrome. Not to blow my own trumpet, but it was a matching winning innings and it was the first time I'd really contributed to the team and shown I could make the step up to senior cricket. It made me realise I should start thinking of myself more as a cricketer than as a kid who played some cricket.

If you could play another sport, what would it be and why?

Golf. I played a reasonable amount when I was younger but it ended up falling to the side when I started playing other sports. I've played a little bit since but I keep trying to play with a high front elbow so end up slicing everything - I once had a drive end up behind me. With my body already giving up on me, I've already accepted I'll soon be an immobile old man who takes 6 hours to play a round.

Who is your favourite player you've played with at West and why?

Playing in midweek, Saturday and Sunday teams means I get to play with lots of different people in the club, from the mens players and the beginners to the Juniors and womens players. If I have to single out one - Piash Khan. Quite simply the happiest man to ever play the game of cricket.

With uncertainty over the upcoming season, what does a positive season look like for you?

With Vaccines starting to roll out, there's some hope that we will be able to get more cricket in than we did this year, but there's obviously nothing guaranteed. This year we were happy to play any cricket whatsoever, with all of the matches being friendlies. I think a positive season would have some form of a competitive league and structure to the cricket. Without being quite sure what cricket was going to be played, it was difficult to get much consistency in teams and performance. I think a positive season would mean a level of stability in the teams this year and the role people are playing in the sides and the opportunity for people to find some form, put in good performances and win lots of games.