Gus Atkinson: ‘I’ve at all times recognized my skill and what I can do’
Gus Atkinson has described his arrival on the worldwide stage as “a dream come true”, after he collected the very best figures for an England males’s debutant in T20 historical past with 4 for 20.
His first wicket was that of Devon Conway, who flipped a size ball into the palms of Will Jacks at deep sq. leg, earlier than returning to the assault with New Zealand 95 for 7 and taking three wickets in 5 balls: first as Tim Seifert top-edged a pull, earlier than Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson had been dismissed lbw and bowled respectively.
It capped a exceptional rise for Atkinson, who started the season out of the Surrey workforce, earlier than a brisk exhibiting towards Middlesex, stay on Sky, caught the attention of the broader world and backed up why he’d been on various England lengthy lists for some time. One phrase: tempo.
“I knew that once I got going, it could happen quickly,” Atkinson mentioned. “I’ve always known my ability and what I can do and I always knew once I had a chance with the games… The Hundred’s a big opportunity and I knew if I could perform in that it would happen quickly and thankfully it has.”
There have been various “look at me” moments from Atkinson this season, with being clocked at 95mph/152kph towards Manchester Originals and bowling a severely quick spell at England white-ball captain Jos Buttler amongst them. Whilst at 25 he’s comparatively inexperienced as a result of depth of expertise at Surrey, mixed with an early profession plagued with accidents, the whispers of Atkinson being the following Jofra Archer have been doing the rounds for some time.
“Probably a year-and-a-half now,” Atkinson mentioned of how lengthy the comparisons have been circulating. “I don’t like to think about that much to be honest.”
But while he won’t like to consider it, others will speak about it and team-mate Jonny Bairstow acknowledged the comparison after his own excellent performance at Old Trafford. “You look at when Jofra [Archer] came on the scene and how quickly he was elevated through…we know that pace is the one thing that’s a rare commodity here and around the world and can be devastating when you get it right.”
A peaceful character who team-mates say has noticeably come out of his shell over the past couple of years, Atkinson is a well-liked individual within the dressing room. When requested by the Oval Invincibles media workforce what he can be if he weren’t knowledgeable cricketer, his reply was mannequin, a remark that acquired dressing-room large laughter.
“One of my friends said, ‘you never know, we might get a smile out of you when you get your first [England] wicket’,” Atkinson joked after his understated celebration when Conway was dismissed. “So I was thinking of that once I got my wicket but yeah, I was obviously very happy inside.
“[It was] fairly superb. To have my household right here and a few mates right here and a few fellow Surrey team-mates, I simply tried to do what I’ve been doing for Surrey and the Oval Invincibles and fortunately it labored properly for me tonight.
“I felt at home. You just want to get that first ball out of the way, then your first over, first wicket whatever and thankfully that came quickly. I was thinking about it a bit overnight, like hopefully my first over goes well, then I’ll be okay from there and thankfully it [was].
“I believed the nerves would kick in afterward however as soon as I received that first ball, first wicket and first over out of the best way, then it was joyful days.”
Atkinson is expected to be part of England’s wider fast-bowling arsenal for the ODI World Cup in India, despite having only played two List A games, both of which were in 2021.
“I have not performed a lot 50-over cricket however I’ve performed a little bit of Championship cricket this 12 months, so needs to be all proper,” was his simple response.
But if Atkinson has earned the right to be anything this year, it’s confident. In the words of Bairstow: “I believe that is going to be the primary cap of some, undoubtedly on this format and I’m positive in just a few others as properly.”
Cameron Ponsonby is a contract cricket author in London. @cameronponsonby