OCC
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William Heath, Luxembourg’s first home-grown cricketer
An interview with one of our longest-serving Optimists
William, thanks for agreeing to this. I remember you from the first OCC match I umpired in 1985, when you were about 13. You had lived most of your life in Luxembourg, so how did you get interested in cricket?
My first memory of cricket was going to the UK during school holidays and watching cricket on TV. I must have been younger than 10, but I was mesmerised by the tempo of the game, meaning pretty slow, in comparison to modern cricket. I also remember watching David Gower's elegant stroke-play and wishing I was him. Then in Luxembourg I found myself at the old cricket ground in Bereldange when a New Zealand representative side visited in the early 80s. And somehow, something clicked. I returned regularly by bicycle to the ground (as I lived nearby in Beggen), to watch the local games. The top players of the club were my early heroes. The likes of David Winters (huge fast bowler), Gideon Matthews (stylish batsman), Iqbal Akram (talented all-rounder) and Phil Woodger (big hitting batsman) all made an impression on me.
Tell me about your early years in cricket, and how you worked your way into the team. There was no junior cricket in those days, no 2nd XI, just the Optimists team.
Indeed there was no junior cricket in Luxembourg, just the Optimists men's team who played only friendly matches against sides from RAF bases in Germany (Wegberg, Rheindahlen) as well as our regular opponents from Royal Brussels, Antwerp and Mechelen and touring sides from the UK. I remember simply hanging around at the ground during matches, watching the games. The ground was very small and was surrounded by the back gardens of many houses and an orchard, which was over a fence. I often volunteered to run round and retrieve any ball which had been hit into someone's garden or into the orchard. Eventually, to reward me for my efforts, or if the team was short, I was allowed to bat at 11 and the visiting team would kindly lob the ball down to me at the end of the game to have a few hits.
Your early memories and experiences?
I was clearly more interested in batting than bowling and I was a very enthusiastic fielder with a decent throwing arm. So, as I went through my teens I became more useful to the side and played as often as I could. I can't remember exactly when I scored my first century for OCC, but I believe I must have been around 15.
You first played for Luxembourg in the first ever European tournament in Guernsey in 1990. What was it like to be playing international cricket at the age of 18? How did you do, and how did you benefit?
It was a great experience, not least having Euan MacDonald as my room-mate. He introduced me to the 'art' of drinking single-malt whisky, Glenmorangie to be precise! I remember the cricket being of a high standard, though we didn’t do very well against some strong teams, but I still remember the banter and camaraderie of being on tour. Something which is still great fun to this day.
You were soon a regular in the team which won the Belgian League three times during the 1990s. Tell us about some of the games you remember.
Yes, our first team had some real mercurial players, such as Mohammed Asghar Zaidi, known as 'Z'. Leg spinner and fantastic batsman, he would single-handedly win matches for us. There was big Dave Arnoll who could bamboozle the opposition with his highlighted, high-bouncing leg-spinners and who could hit the ball miles as a batsman. I once remember him hitting a straight six at the Royal Brussels ground - off the back foot. Then of course, the then poshest accent in the club, Charles Cemlyn-Jones, a very talented batsman who showed me that self-belief made you twice the batsman you were! And Charles had a LOT of self-belief.
When did you become OCC captain? Tell us about it.
I first became captain in 1996 and kept the job until I moved to the UK in 1999. I came ack to Luxembourg in 2002 and did two further stints as captain, totaling around 12 years in the role. I have always loved the role of captain in cricket, as you have so much influence on the outcome of the game. You have to get the best out of your players and, at the same time, analyse your opponents’ weaknesses and choose the right field to make the right bowler as effective as possible. This is all within your remit as a captain. Having said that, I am talking more about longer format cricket, i.e. 40-50 overs. T20 has brought with it different tactics and challenges for a captain, especially at the professional level, but less so at the amateur level, in my humble opinion (happy to discuss this with anyone over a few beers at our ground sometime in the summer). And in friendly games, I always loved fielding second to try and 'engineer' a close finish and then let it play out. The friendly games you remember are always the close finishes.
You moved to England in 1999, where you played league cricket and also for MCC. Tell us about some of your experiences of both.
I moved to the UK in 1999 and immediately joined Ealing CC, a large west-London club. Two things stood out: firstly, that cricket is part of the fabric of society in the UK. A large club such as Ealing had a lot of resources, with full-time staff making the whole machine work, allowing cricketers to get on and enjoy training and playing. This was in stark contrast to cricket in Luxembourg, where you always have the feeling of swimming against the tide. Secondly, from a playing perspective, it was a hard lesson, going from being a big fish in a small pond to basically a nobody, with no track record, and with limited experience of playing on grass pitches. In my first season I had one game in the first team, and was out LBW to the first ball of the game. I was dropped to the second team and ended that first season playing in the third team. Eventually I found my place skippering the second team. It was great to be able to use my 'experience' as a 28-year old to help the younger and more talented cricketers in my team prove themselves and pressure the first teamers. These were some of the happiest times as a cricketer that I can remember. Cricket on grass pitches just makes sense and the seeds of future plans were sown.
I also got the opportunity to apply to become a so-called playing member of the MCC, which involved two years as a probationer and then, if accepted, a further three years playing a minimum number of games for The Club. These are hugely enjoyable games, as you get to meet lots of like-minded cricketers and play friendly games on some of the nicest grounds in the UK. It also gives you full MCC member rights, including year-round access to the Lords Pavilion, even on international match days. My first day watching cricket as a member was the first day of the first Ashes test in 2005, when Harmison hit Ponting in the grille and we bowled them out for 175. What an unbelievable start to an unbelievable series.
When you came back to Luxembourg you had spells both as OCC captain and Luxembourg captain. What are your best memories of playing for Luxembourg?
I was very proud to become the youngest captain of the OCC first team at 24 (I think I still might be!) and gave it everything I had - easy when you are a young professional. Work and cricket - simple equation. However, playing for Luxembourg was a mixed experience. For one, we didn't have our best side at any given moment, as there were residency restrictions on some of our players. Secondly, we always seemed to underperform, which I found frustrating as captain in Cyprus and Belgium. Furthermore, for the tournament in Belgium the ICC had switched to T20 format, which was not my natural game, and I found it difficult to contribute. However, these were still cricket tours and always fun from a camaraderie point of view.
And some of your more recent matches for OCC?
I am not fit enough and do not play enough to get into any kind of form with the bat, and now I am probably more of a liability in the field than an asset. So I restrict my playing activities to friendly games and the odd 2nd team LCF match.
A serious skiing accident interrupted your career, but you managed a comeback and are still playing, 40 years after I first saw you. Do you have any more playing ambitions?
Yes, that accident certainly set me back. I completely smashed up my right knee and lower leg back in 2017 and now I can't run any more. I used to pride myself as a good fielder and a quick runner between the wickets. However, I have had to kiss those two attributes goodbye, along with a few more caused by advancing age and excessive consumption of beer and pizzas.
Apart from playing, you have also had a spell as OCC Chairman, and are now head groundsman at Walfer. Tell us about some of your non-playing achievements.
Yes, I was Chairman of the club between 2017-2019. I had always enjoyed being a committee member at the Optimists, but being Chairman took the responsibility up a level. You are the one who really has to take the bull by the horns and drive the club forward. For those who have never done it, the role is time-consuming and frankly very tiring. Basically, the buck stops at the Chair for nearly all matters, with the possible exception of results on the field, (although long-term membership, training and junior strategy would of course impact on that). After being Chair I actually took some time off the OCC committee for a few years just to recover!
After that, I came back to the club to help out with something which I clearly feel strongly about, groundsmanship. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to play in the UK on some absolutely stunning cricket grounds and have marveled at the state of the outfield. The Pierre Werner Cricket Ground back in Luxembourg was basically a cow field before it was allocated to cricket, and apart from a few occasional bits of maintenance, the grass has simply been cut for the last 30-odd years. My aim is to bring the quality of the outfield up to a much higher level. Luckily, in the last couple of years we have acquired some really good pieces of equipment which should help us achieve this. I can't thank Rob Deed, Phil Burleigh, Graham Cope and Simon Baker enough for their regular involvement. But, as always, a club needs its members to volunteer to help out and I will always be grateful if club members with a similar interest in active outdoor involvement contact me to discuss how to contribute.
Finally, how do you see your cricket future?
I am learning to accept my limitations as a sportsman now. Age waits for no-one and I would advise my younger colleagues to enjoy their good physical health while they can. Having said that, I love playing cricket with my friends and having a good laugh on and off the pitch. As long as my health allows that, I will carry on.
As for my non-playing future, I am happy to continue as head groundsman, looking to improve the playing and practice facilities. Furthermore, I would love to develop one or two grass wickets at the ground. Hopefully over the next few years, I will find the time to give it a go.
And if all else fails, there will always be the possibility to simply turn up to watch a match, drink a couple of beers and talk rubbish with the rest of them until I drop.
William, thanks very much, and I’ll certainly help you with the last sentence (but please don’t drop before me!).