Haggett Ready To Push His Career On

Kent all-rounder CALUM HAGGETT talks cricket and off-field interests in conversation with MARK PENNELL…

Long-term injuries are never fun…but I think I dealt with this one as well as I could. Yes, I was frustrated at times, but I tried to look into the positives and, although I couldn’t bowl, I looked into other ways that might improve my cricket once I was fully fit. So I tried to improve my overall aerobic fitness and work on my batting. Hopefully, I’ll be able to contribute some runs to the side as well as wickets from now on.

The management support at Kent during my injury has been superb… they haven’t tried to get me on the pitch too quickly and, in some ways, have maybe prevented me from trying to push it by getting back on the park too early. It’s really good to know and to feel that the club are right behind me in everything I do.

Like Charlie Hartley and Daniel Bell-Drummond…I went to school at Millfield near Taunton. It’s a school with a great reputation for producing cricketers and athletes in general. In part it is because they have good scouts but mainly, and certainly it was the case when I was there, it was because they had great coaches in Richard Ellison and Mark Davies. It was a nice environment to be part of because the school was very dedicated to sport so, if a team was doing well or someone had won a national title or event, there was a real buzz about the place. As a consequence, you never wanted to be second best.

I’ll admit I was a little bit nervous returning for the first team at Guildford last month…it’s so different from playing for the Second XI as you’re going up a few levels and out of your comfort zone maybe. But it was great to finally get out and play against Surrey and to win the game was a bonus. Bowling at Tillakaratne Dilshan in my first game back was pretty special, but I try to enjoy those moments when I’m bowling against an international player in the opposing team. I’d like to think it brings out the best in me, because I know I have to be switched on from ball one and be just that little bit better.

In terms of a comeback game…the performance in Guildford couldn’t have gone much better, both for me and the team. To win away against a team like Surrey, and to complete a championship double over them too, felt pretty good for us all. For me to contribute was really pleasing. I hope in the remaining four-day games we can push our claims for promotion.

During the lay-off…I’ve really improved at FIFA 14on the X-Box. I enjoy watching football and have followed Leeds United since I was a kid. They were my dad’s team and I can just about remember when they were good! To be honest, there’s not too much outside cricket that really floats my boat. I went to watch the new Planet of the Apesfilm recently, but we don’t get too much time for films and books. My idea of switching off is a couple of hours out with my mates.

I’m a man of Somerset…but I am hoping the time will come when I can afford to move up to Kent full time. I know I’ll have to put in the performances to make Kent want me long-term for that to happen. In the meantime, I try to get home when I can to see my family and my girlfriend, Holly. She’s very understanding, thankfully, and understands this is my chosen career. She keeps busy, working on her family’s farm, until we get to meet up, which is every fortnight or so.

This winter… I think I’ll be spending much of time in the indoor school at Canterbury working on my strength and conditioning. I may look to go away for a few weeks after Christmas, but I’m not sure if that’s really for me. I also want to complete my level two and three coaching certificates. I think, long-term, that coaching is what I want to do after I finish playing. So I’ll spend some time working with the Kent youth players and see how that goes.