Middlesex rebuild safe in the hands of Stevie Eskinazi

MATTHEW POTTER: The red-ball skipper at Lord's has all the tools to lead the club forward and given his history of taking chances it would seem foolish to bet against him

• Max Holden leads Middlesex's young contingent
• Middlesex and Kent tie in Blast thriller

After a period of upheaval, Stevie Eskinazi has taken the reigns of Middlesex's red-ball fortunes it’s an opportunity that he’s going to seize. Born in Johannesburg before moving to England as a young child and subsequently to Perth, Australia, Eskinazi has a habit of making the most of chances.

His talent as a cricketer growing up couldn’t be doubted, but there’s another sport he credits for much of his early development: hockey. “I started playing representative cricket at under-15 then also played for Western Australia under-15s, under-17s, and under-19s but I actually played a lot of hockey as well, that was a big thing for me in the winter - cricket didn’t really feature in the winter months.

"With a lot of guys these days, especially in London where I play my league cricket which is quite Asian dominated, they play all year round and kids get to 15 or 16 and they’re just sick of it and just want to do something else. 

“They don’t want to play, schoolwork gets in the way, and talent is lost. Whereas we would play it and then through the winter we wouldn’t really think about it so we would actually be buzzing to play through the summer months and I think that makes quite a big difference as you get older.” 

Just before his 19th birthday, after one year of university, Eskinazi flew to England to sign a scholarship contract with Middlesex. Although it could have been very different for the new captain of the county. “I was initially going to go to Hampshire and play because I had some family ties there where we lived, but family friends (former England players) Chris and Robin Smith recommended me to Richard Scott who was the head coach (of Middlesex) at the time. I came over and didn’t really know as much as I probably should have, they had never even seen me play!”

THE DARREN STEVENS STORY

He made his first-class debut during the 2015 campaign but it was during the 2016 title-winning season when he really established himself in the side, scoring consecutive centuries in his first two appearances of the season. “Looking back on how the season finished it was a dream come true! It was an interesting year, I was nowhere near playing really for the first three months of the season and I started to wonder if this was the place for me. I didn’t know when the opportunity would be, we had a really strong top five or six.

"And then Nick Compton got called up to play for England and I got pulled aside on the balcony after a T20 and they said ‘You’re going to play two games, and then Compo is going to come back in.’ And at the time I was thinking you can’t really tell someone they’re going to play two games, what happens if they score 100 in both? You can’t cap someone's career there. 

“Fortunately enough for me, they were some high scoring games and I did manage to score hundreds in both, which was quite unexpected for me personally and worked out quite well as Compo then decided to take a little bit of time off so I settled into that number three role.

"We were playing some really good cricket at the time so it was a really nice time to have my first run of games -  we were on a run of some incredible wins including chasing 355 against Somerset in like 55 overs or something. So my first few months of first-class cricket were unbelievable, we were playing some of the best games of first-class cricket ever played! It was great fun.”

^{The South African is a key player across all formats}

Despite the red ball success, Eskinazi had more trouble establishing himself in the white-ball sides. However, in the last couple of years he has started to play more games in the shorter format, and with no overseas players this year and the departure of players such as Dawid Malan, he is a key figure.

“I got my first proper run at T20s in 2018 after playing a few games previously and also played a few games of 50 over which were ok, but we weren’t a great white ball side at the time," he added. "Last year, I managed to establish myself in the 50 over cricket a little bit more and play bits and pieces of the T20 campaign and got myself a few handy scores. It’s something I have been developing and will be continuing to develop as it’s something I'm massively keen on progressing in my career.

"The way we performed in white-ball cricket last year I think showed a bit of a shift on the momentum and focus, Middlesex has often been seen as a bit of a red ball first side with a lot of history behind it and that has taken up a lot of the brainpower of the management and players leading up to the last couple of years, there’s more of an emphasis on white-ball performance now so I’m definitely looking at becoming a bit more of a regular and succeed more in that format.”

Middlesex have attracted some huge overseas names in his time at the club, such as AB De Villiers, Mohammed Hafeez, and Tim Southee, but there are two New Zealanders in particular that he speaks especially highly of. “I can attribute a lot of my guidance to James Franklin, he was the captain of the side, he was hugely successful for New Zealand, he was a great leader and a really calm head. He made me feel very welcome in the side and I still speak to him every now and then about life. He's a mate, someone who I really enjoyed starting out as a leader. 

Debuts last forever: How the last month opened the door for a new generation

“Ross Taylor too, especially in the 50 over stuff - I really appreciated what he brought to the dressing room. I was captaining the side and he’s captained New Zealand so to have him to feed off was an incredible experience.

Having missed out on The Hundred in the initial draft, he is hoping that some good may come from the bad and he may have an opportunity if a redraft occurs. “I was disappointed but I think you have to have a bit of perspective with these things. My statistics in T20s are good but not outstanding so I was hedging my bets a little bit but unless you’re averaging 35 and striking at 150 you’re never going to be a shoo-in. I do think it’s a good opportunity for some of us that didn’t get picked up to go out and impress in the blast and then if there’s a redraft there could be a chance which would be completely unexpected and great fun.”

He plans to return to Australia this winter (global situation dependent) for more grade cricket, and it’s clear he still holds the country close to his heart. “I’m lucky as a lot of my friends and family including my parents still live there so it’s a logical thing to do. I play at Sydney Cricket Club - it’s a good standard, has good facilities, and has worked really well for me over the last couple of years. For a young batter, I think it's a no brainer, you don’t have the physical demands that bowlers do, so you’re just trying to soak up as much knowledge and experience as you can. 

“Getting out there and training with different guys, different coaches, and different voices is very good for your game and something I am going to try and continue to do especially before responsibilities increase and family life becomes more hectic so I think to get out there and play as much as I can while I’m in my twenties is really important. And there’s nothing wrong with spending winters able to go to Bondi beach after practice!” 

^{Stevie Eskinazi has taken the reigns from the departed Dawid Malan}

He managed to make it to Australia back before lockdown and viewed the time away from cricket as valuable in recharging his batteries ready for what promises to be an extremely busy period. “I made the decision to go back and quarantine with my partner and parents in Australia. In hindsight, Australia had it pretty good compared to the UK, so that was good. I came back and did my two weeks of quarantine here before getting back to practice. I was a little worried about being able to get back but the fact I have a dual passport made the freedom of movement a little easier which was really lucky to get the most out of this.

“While I was over there I was able to keep up to date with my training and I think it was actually quite a nice time for me, of course, it was distressing what was going on but on a personal level to get back and spend time with my parents and switch off from cricket was a really good thing so by the time I was back in training I was really hungry to get going.” 

It is clear that Eskinazi is viewing what is left of 2020 as a huge opportunity, both from a personal and team perspective, and given his history of taking chances it would seem foolish to bet against him.

For unrivalled coverage of the county season, subscribe to The Cricketer and receive 3 issues for £5