George Scrimshaw is back

NICK HOWSON: Once tipped for England stardom and able to bowl 90mph, the world was at the feet of the 6ft 7ins quick. After more than 1,300 days without a senior appearance, a much-anticipated return looms

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Desert Springs, Loughborough and Potchefstroom. Jamie Porter, Toby Roland-Jones and Reece Topley. These were the kind of stages George Scrimshaw was gracing, the company he was keeping as a prodigious teenager. Just four matches into a professional career and England were already convinced by his 6ft 7ins frame and ability to crank it up to 90pmh. Who could blame them?

The cruellest of scripts has been followed since. The Burton-on-Trent-native had already been in and out of surgery twice during his formative years but promotion to the senior ranks brought with it an unfortunate twist of fate, another reminder that the faster you climb to the summit the more brutal the thump down to earth is.

A cricketing journey that started at John Taylor High School included spells at Staffordshire and Dunstall CC before he was picked up by the Worcestershire Academy and subsequently handed professional terms in July 2016. By that time Scrimshaw had gone under the knife to remove a bone spur on his ankle and undergone a slap repair operation at the socket of his shoulder joint. And that is just the start of the theatre.

A 2017 season that included more run-outs for the Worcestershire Second XI was punctuated by his senior debut against Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast, the first of four outings that season. Handed the new ball, his maiden appearance lasted six deliveries as Richard Levi and Adam Rossington pumped him for 19 from the opening over. Captain Alex Wakely didn't call upon him again.

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Things improved as Scrimshaw got Keaton Jennings, Riki Wessels and Billy Godleman in his subsequent three showings. The ECB wasted little time, enlisting the right armer as part of several pace bowling camps comprising of the most talented peripheral figures on the circuit. Pace had already been identified as key to the blueprint of dominating international cricket for the foreseeable, and this group were the guardians of that future.

"It’s probably the most exciting group of bowlers I can remember working with," then bowling lead Kevin Shine said of a battery which included Scrimshaw, who unlike his contemporaries had not yet played a first-class match. Roland-Jones had played four Tests the previous summer against South Africa and West Indies. Porter had just bowled Essex to the County Championship title. And yet Scrimshaw was among them.

"I was training with some great cricketers to learn from and see how they train," he told The Cricketer. "Being able to use the facilities and the coaches my game developed a lot in that time, working with strength and conditioning coaches I got really strong.

"I don't think I would have done anything differently because it was all going so well. I don't think I was being over bowled or anything like that. I didn't really know what was going on with my body but I really enjoyed my time."

Scrimshaw would have been forgiven for thinking it was all too good to be true. And he would have been right.

He first broke down with back problems in Abu Dhabi during Worcestershire's pre-season preparations in 2018. As a result of taking much of the campaign off to fully recuperate, he made just one outing all season, in a 12-a-side second XI match against a Surrey side including Gus Atkinson and Matt Dunn at Kidderminster. A first-innings 3-41 felt like a major victory in the circumstances, having essentially taken a backward step.

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Worcestershire remain close to Scrimshaw's heart

His 2019 was dominated by false starts. Worcestershire were again bound for Abu Dhabi but stress reaction and inflammation in Scrimshaw's lower back led to another two weeks of rehabbing. The seamer tip-toed back into action during four Second XI 50-over games and was handed a handful of new-ball overs. Tom Banton, Peter Trego and George Munsey were among his victims. All seemed right in the world, again.

Prior to this pre-season, since bowling the Scotland batter Scrimshaw has let go of one ball in anger - the final delivery of that spell at Worcester Royal Grammar School. Another failed comeback in June of 2019 followed and by now serious conversations were being had over his future. Surgery was the only answer.

Back operations seem to be par for the course for quick bowlers and Scrimshaw was no different. After undergoing the procedure in November 2019 he has spent the last 17 months preparing for this moment - a chance.

Having the 2020 campaign largely bulldozed by the Covid-19 pandemic made little difference to Scrimshaw from a cricketing perspective. Worcestershire were hardly likely to extend his three-year deal and he became one of the dozens released at the end of a truncated campaign. And his recovery demanded small steps, an incremental programme which lent itself well to lockdown.

Come the New Year, Derbyshire, who had bid farewell to the retired Tony Palladino, gave Scrimshaw a winter trial. And it was an opportunity he grabbed with both hands, under the tutelage of new bowling lead Ajmal Shahzad before he headed to the Pakistan Super League where he worked temporarily with Multan Sultans. By March, he'd convinced head coach Dave Houghton he was worthy of a 12-month deal.

"I was always going to try and get back fit and try other counties," he said. "Luckily enough Derbyshire were there to give me the opportunity to train this winter.

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Forcing his way into a competitive Derbyshire attack is Scrimshaw's first task

"I started at a low level and slowly started to build up my overs and by the end, I was doing the same amount as the rest of the Derby squad. It was good to have that backing and a boost for me. I have this chance now and I am going to do everything I can to take that opportunity.

"A few people knew me from previous seasons and knew what sort of player I was. I always start by turning over a new leaf and starting afresh. You want to work hard. You never think 'I'm going to get something here'. I wanted to work hard and show them what I could do. That is all you can do.

"Gratefulness, overjoyed to get back into the professional game so quickly. It was quite a confidence boost to know that I can still do this and they obviously saw something in me.

"I felt like I was on trial here, and they were going to consider me for this season and Second XI games and stuff like that. I never expected to receive a deal that soon. I thought if it was to happen it might have happened a bit later down the season. I was just very happy to be given that opportunity, to be honest."

Even if Scrimshaw's body lets him down again in the years to come, he is better prepared than ever to cope with the mental anguish. Failed comebacks and constant injury setbacks have caused tears, counselling and a complete collapse of his belief.

"It has obviously been very tough," he conceded. "It is literally down to will power and how much I love the game and want to prove to myself and to others that I can play this game at the highest standard. 

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"I definitely want to get back to that place where I was. I am still finding my feet and I am pushing towards that goal where I want to be.

"In terms of the mental side: my family and friends, if I didn't have them, I would be in a different place. Having my girlfriend (Natalie) by my side for nearly three years now, she's been amazing through the whole thing. I don't know where I'd be without those people.

"Especially the last time it happened I never thought it would take this many trials and errors to get to where I want to be. I never looked that far down the line and thought that I would need surgery. 

"I've been in tears, I've been in a really bad mental state. I don't mind saying that I've had counselling, I have spoken to people and when you're down you've got to speak to someone.

"It is sometimes good to speak to someone who you don't know because you feel like you can open up to them more because they don't know you and your whole story. You can get a bit more off your chest. 

"I have told myself to keep going because of how much I want to keep playing this game. It means a lot to me. I am not one of those people who can brush it off and think what might have been. Then I can put my mind at rest.

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"My girlfriend has not been harsh but has urged me not to have these bad thoughts in my mind because there is nothing you can do about it. You've got to do what you can because what you do now is going to affect your future. Being proactive and getting stuff done, whether that is stuff outside of cricket or not. My main thing is cricket and I don't want to focus on anything else until cricket is out of the picture."

The second layer of Scrimshaw's comeback is dealing with his expectation against what is possible. He cannot realistically expect to spend more than 1,300 days out of the pro game and expect to walk back into English cricket's busiest season without a degree of pragmaticism.

Nor can he expect his pace to immediately be what it was in 2017. A frustrating period, whether he likes it or not, is inevitable but is all part of the process.

"At the moment I am just trying to find that click," Scrimshaw added. "My back has felt the best it has ever felt. I don't know if that is going to change anything else. But I am still very certain I can get back to where I was previously, I don't think I am quite there yet but I don't think I am far off either. 

"I've already bowled in a four-day game (vs Lancashire) and I've got through plenty of overs (22.4). It is a bit of relief and weight off the shoulders that I can still do that and my body can take that load. It is brilliant, to be honest. I am not thinking about my back anymore, it is more the technical side. I want to get that pace back up and that rhythm and find that click. I want to find that this season at some point.

"I want to impress and I think anyone in the last year of their contract or on a one-year deal will want to. That's exactly what I want to do but I don't want to rush everything. I need to keep my mind calm and collected because if I don't I could be reaching ahead of myself and rush things that aren't there yet. I don't want to take my time but I don't want to rush it either. I want to get it right and be in that right place.

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Scrimshaw will be taking inspiration from Reece Topley, who also attended the ECB pace programme

"The most important thing, as simple as it might sound, is communication, especially with the coaches. But with players as well. I got quite frustrated with how I was bowling against Lancashire in my second spell. The coaches and a few players pulled me aside just said to try and enjoy it. They knew I wanted to but made sure that I knew that it isn't going to happen straight away. That backing helps settle the mind a bit and that is what I am going to try to look back towards."

Of all the campaigns to make a staggered, steady comeback from serious surgery, 2021 provides the ideal platform. Fourteen rounds of County Championship games (Derbyshire have been drawn with former side Worcestershire in Group 1) are supplemented by the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup. There are at least 70 days of cricket pencilled in for Derbyshire, not including the knock-out rounds of the three competition which may follow.

If it all goes swimmingly, it seems unlikely that England won't be back on the phone. Returning to be among esteemed company again would be the perfect way to cap Scrimshaw's return - and put to bed any lingering fears his injury troubles were a sliding doors moment.

"If I'd had a smooth run I'd have had some first-class games under my belt and I would have been a lot more noticed," he admits. "It is not just me who has had these setbacks. I've had a lot more than many other cricketers out there. I don't know anyone who has had as many. 

"Reece Topley (four stress fractures, one surgery) had a little bit of time out of the game and he's back in the England team now a few seasons afterwards. He's obviously worked hard to get back to where he is now. Whatever he has done has worked well for him. Hopefully, I can follow that similar path."

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