What, what has been the key to you performing so well, especially with ball in hand?

Yeah, honestly, I think it's probably just a bit of continuity of obviously, one, my body being good and, and then just con- continuity of playing.

Um, you get a bit of confidence in, in what you're doing when you, when you, when you're consistently on the park.

So I think that was probably something that helped me a lot.

I had a bit of a, the, the 12 months before went, going to England were, were pretty tough.

Um, had a couple of niggly injuries that's put me out for sort of six to eight weeks at a time.

So you don't really get any, yeah, any, any continuity really with that.

What do you make of him?

What has been the key to your performing so well, especially with ball in hand?

Yeah, honestly, I think it's probably just a bit of continuity of obviously one, my body being good and then just continuity of playing.

You get a bit of confidence in what you're doing when you're consistently on the park.

So I think that was probably something that helped me a lot.

I had a bit of a, the 12 months before going to England were pretty tough.

I had a couple of niggly injuries that put me up for sort of six to eight weeks at a time.

So you don't really get any Yeah, any continuity, really, with that.

What's the key to bowling against these guys, particularly in T20? Yeah, I sort of

I wonder if you could give a sense of what the Walker Cup means to you, Nathan Smith, as a competitor and a captain, and what it means to the amateur game in general.

Wow.

Well, you know, you mentioned that with, you know, 1922 and different things, and there's some legendary names on there that kind of started all this.

But, you know, I think that the Walker Cup is the pinnacle of amateur golf.

I think that for guys, and I think it's twofold.

I think there are guys that are longtime career amateurs that...

You know that it's it's it's a highlight for them.

And then please tell the story about playing with Mr. Palmer in what turned out to be his final round at Augusta.

What happened as far as Cass getting in touch and getting to the point where we are now?

Yeah, absolutely.

So the story goes, one of my executive team members moved out from Phoenix to Charlottesville because his fiance is going to University of Virginia for a Ph.D. program.

And then as he does, he gets to know the community, who the local players are, what's going on in the space, just kind of seeing what's up with homelessness.

He gets to know some people.

They eventually ask him, hey, can you just kind of give us some guidance? We're thinking about, you know, helping people move from an encampment into an indoor space and just kind of love some guidance from you as to what y'all have done back in Phoenix.

Because Central Arizona Shelter Services is a Phoenix-based company, although now we're considering being the Charlottesville Albemarle Shelter Services, but CAST nonetheless.

I was going to ask, how can the community help? Volunteer-wise, resource-wise, what do they do?

Like the team concept.

Sure.

Well, that's, that, you know, that's a great point.

I think they've done a great job, you know, developing that program, and Mike Wand, and, you know, Heather, Chris, a lot of people that are, uh, you know, doing that and everything.

And I think you're seeing that coming into fruition, that guys are starting to, you know, do that and make these teams and everything.

But the more you can, um, you know, do that, you know, at that, at that lower level, you start to see the, uh, you know, kind of the ripple effects, you know, of a Walker Cup team or different things, or Palmer Cup teams.

So I, I think it's incredible what they, what they've done, and they've adapted and seen other countries doing it.

Um, do you do your best not to eliminate all that stuff but to c- try to keep this the way it's always been as best you can?

So can you share a little bit about the importance of that role and what their role is in Tarrant County?

Sure.

So I tell people that the district clerk is an unsexy position that is really important kind of behind the scenes.

And it's very, very different than a lot of the other elected official positions that you have in local government, because you're not sitting on a body voting on things like a budget like you did and obviously on city council or like a county commissioner would do.

And you're not the district attorney, you know, making decisions about charging like Tiffany Burks will be doing in next year or a judge ruling on cases.

But what the district clerk does is they sit kind of in the middle of the criminal justice system or at least a judicial part of the criminal justice system in the county.

And they they are the person that should be controlling sort of all the data and the information and the filing the the paperwork.

Is there something that you would like to take a look at doing differently that would lead to more positive outcomes or make county government work better?

You've got quite a string of concerts, so you'll have to explain it each

time.

Yeah, I mean...

That's okay.

The story is pretty gradual.

So, I mean, I want to say in maybe 2017 or 2018, Hannah was living in North Bay, which, as I mentioned to you, is my hometown.

My parents still live there.

Little

I'm wondering what was that like, you know, being the overseas pro expected to deliver in key moments? Uh, how was that?

Yeah, very, I suppose two very different experiences.

One, one for Worcester and one for Surrey.

Worcester, you know, I definitely felt like I had a little bit more of an impact in terms of the role they wanted me to play.

Slightly smaller, well, definitely a lot smaller club obviously, and, um, a club that relies on their overseas to, to, to help them out, and had, I end up doing quite well for them, which was nice.

Um, and f- I suppose for Surrey it was completely different.

You're just, you know, you're just, you, you're in with th- I feel like it was like the best T20 team I've ever been a part of.

You touched on it in terms of the, the humidity a- and the heat, but what was it like in terms of the pitches, the crowds? Was it everything you expected it to be, or were you surprised a little bit, uh, by it? The passion, the heat, the intensity?

Did you go into it thinking anything different? Have you made any changes to your game, or are you just doing exactly the same thing that you've been doing for your entire career?

Yeah.

I firstly, yes, Daryl's 100, that was one of the best knocks I've ever seen.

The, the, uh, the partnership between him and Rachin to get us into the position to win this game, and obviously g- get ahead in the series, uh, was huge.

So those boys, you know, we, we owe them a lot.

That was a seriously niggly time to go out and bat just when it was going up and down.

You know, Jofra Archer was steaming in on a pretty up and down wicket.

Pretty good wicket [laughs]

What have those conversations been?

Well, we're all still in full whites, so we haven't decoded yet.

The spikes are off, but the whites are on still.

But yeah, no, you're right.

It takes everyone and it takes, you know, like just understanding the moments in the game where we know we need to be a little bit better for longer and understanding those key moments.

And like I said, that one with Ruchin and Ruchin and Darrell was one on the third night going into day four when they put us under a bit of pump.

they had the momentum probably going into that uh that evening so that was a massive moment for us just to just to turn turn the tide and then and then put on those partnerships and um yeah luckily for us you know we worked hard it took everyone in this series uh matt henry at the oval um we You know, Lords was a bit of a shootout, but, you know, we had some key contributions and the belief is there because, you know, we truly understand we've done something special and we know how good this team can be ahead of a massive test summer coming up.

Yeah, no,

What have those conversations been?

Well, we're all still in full whites, so we haven't decoded yet.

The spikes are off, but the whites are on still.

But yeah, no, you're right.

It takes everyone and it takes, you know, like just understanding the moments in the game where we know we need to be a little bit better for longer and understanding those key moments.

And like I said, that one with Ruchin and Ruchin and Daryl was one on the third night going into day four when they put us under a bit of pump.

they had the momentum probably going into that uh that evening so that was a massive moment for us just to just to turn turn the tide and then and then put on those partnerships and um yeah luckily for us you know we worked hard it took everyone in this series uh matt henry at the oval um we you know lords was a bit of a shootout but you know we had some we had some key we had some key contributions and the belief is there because we you know we we truly understand we've done something special and and we know how good this team can be ahead of a massive test test summer coming up

For you on a personal note, to know that the team trusts you, the coaches back you to take this team and drive it through for an historic Test Series win, what does that one mean to you personally, not just the result and the award, but the trust that the team have put in you?

What, what about it? How do you see it?

Yeah, it's an interesting one.

It's not, you're not really used to having the keeper up too much, but I think it just takes their feet away.

Um, both, both Root and Brook especially, uh, like to get out of their crease and be quite proactive.

So I think it just keeps them, keeps them on the crease, and obviously we're trying to set them up for that sort of, that LBW, that one that nips back.

But it also keeps them a little bit leg side of it because they are worried about that.

And I think you saw in the second innings at the Oval, Matt Henry nicked off Harry Brook as well.

I mean, how many do you feel you need? Not, not saying to be safe, but, uh, feel, "Oh yeah, we've got a really good chance in the game."

So your organization, Stewards of Cumberland County PA, uh, where are you? Where do you find yourself? Are you on the ban side, the build side, the, the kinda where I'm at, you know, somewhere in the middle, uh, just as long as it isn't in my neck of the woods? Where do you guys h- or have you taken a position like that?

Well, look, we know that data centers are a fundamental part of the internet infrastructure.

We couldn't be talking right now without a data center somewhere.

The problem is that this is a hyper-scale data center, so this is massive, massive amounts of compute that, uh... is, is much more than your typical data center.

So, uh, when we picture a data center in the past, it's a warehouse somewhere.

This is just bigger than...

It, it's so massive.

Tell me about what you're, what you're planning on for that day.

But from a test match point of view, how much was that an issue for this game?

I don't think you can call it an issue.

I think it's something that's sort of there and you're aware of it and I guess it is what it is in a way.

But it was the same for both teams.

I felt like we maybe batted more when it was cloudy or at different times of the day compared to potentially the start of their second innings when the sun was out and it definitely felt like a different wicket.

But yeah, you know, like the fact that you couldn't really trust the bounce as a batter was really tough and you were sort of trying to formulate plans to negate that up and down bounce.

And ultimately you knew you sort of had one with your name on it as you could before that one come and try and make as many good positions and decisions as you could before that ball came.

it's pretty interesting intriguing actually I was just reading Ben Stokes comments in regards to Test Cricket just rather concerned coming off the short format that Test Cricket might be under a little bit of pressure and it's not a good product to be able to watch and witness over three or four days for you any concerns with Test Cricket falling so short or is it just the rub of the green at the moment the way things go because of conditions and the pitches are sometimes out of control

Like from a, from an individual performance point of view, especially as a bowling unit, there's a lot to take into this next test match at the Oval, isn't there?

Yeah, for sure.

I think, you know, obviously Kyle and Waar coming back from injuries, Waar bowling really good pace, Kyle getting rewarded with, uh, with wickets.

Um, didn't really have Tesser for the first innings there, but for him to, to front up in the second innings there and, and bowl a few overs, naught out of 100 was, was huge for us.

So hopefully all four bowlers, you know, good, good to go for that next test.

Um, and yeah, obviously we put the ball in good areas for a while there and got rewarded on a pitch that ultimately suited us.

But, um, yeah, adapting and adjusting, things we talked about, talk about as the Black Caps.

Mm

On a wicket like this, is aggressive batting perhaps a better strategy than trying to, uh, trying to sort of see things out?

I think it's whatever way, whatever way you play that'll give you the best chance, I think.

You know, Brookie is-- he plays that way every time he bats, I think.

Um, we seem to give him a few chances every time, um, and he makes us pay.

But, um, yeah, I think, look, the way Kyle batted there to get us close to their score was really good.

Um, but again, I don't think you're gonna see Dev, Dev or Rachin play like that.

I think they're gonna play their way and commit to that.

So how did he find the, uh, the bigger workload across the two innings?

Can you sum it up for us?

Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, that's the first day went really well.

We put the ball in good areas for a long period.

There was a bit of assistance.

She felt like we bowled with the sun out quite a bit today, which was a little bit annoying.

I mean...

But yeah, I thought they bowled really well, unfortunately.

Is it, I guess, noticeable as we're led to believe, for those of us who've never played at Lourdes?

Can you sum it up for us? Yeah.

Well, yeah, I mean, yeah, that's...

Firstly, I did really well.

We put the ball in good areas for a long period.

There was a bit of assistance.

She felt like we bowled with the sun out quite a bit today, which was a little bit annoying, and then I...

I mean...

Is it, I guess, noticeable as we're led to believe, for those of us who've never played at Lourdes?

So, A, was there any juice when you did get the ball? And, B, what were those bowling plans that Jake went over with you?

Yeah I think obviously there is a massive element of unknown you know first time here playing against players you haven't really seen a lot of and I think they were caught a little bit on the hop with how dry the wicket was with obviously the sun's been out for four days in Belfast which is actually unheard of apparently.

But yeah, when they won the toss in bold, it did move around a bit early.

So there was a little bit there with the new ball, but once the ball got a little bit softer, it did prove to be pretty tough work.

We had to go to the short balls a little bit more, which is similar to what we do back home.

But over here in England, the wickets don't tend to bounce as much as back home.

So the stumps are more in play with the LBWs and bolds rather than... knick-offs and and that nice carry that we used to back home so they were kind of the plans and that's something we'll look to do tomorrow as well

Unfortunately for Dean Foxcroft, but how enjoyable watching those boys bat.

So, A, was there any juice when you did get the ball? And B, what were those bowling plans that Jake went over with you?

Yeah, I think obviously there is a massive element of unknown, you know, first time here playing against players you haven't really seen a lot of.

And I think they were caught a little bit on the hop with how dry the wicket was with obviously the sun's been out for four days in Belfast, which is actually unheard of apparently.

But yeah, when they won the toss in bold, it did move around a bit early, eh? So there was a little bit there with the new ball, but once the ball got a little bit softer, it did prove to be pretty tough work.

We had to go to the short balls a little bit more, which is similar to what we do back home.

But over here in England, the wickets don't tend to bounce as much as back home, so the stumps are more in play with the LBWs and bolds rather than knick-offs and that nice carry that we're used to back home.

they were kind of the plans and that's something we'll look to do tomorrow as well

Unfortunately for Dean Foxcroft, but how enjoyable watching those boys bat.

How well did they prepare you for that step to the international game?

Oh, yeah, for sure.

I think, you know, you just sort of figure yourself out over the years playing domestic cricket.

You get the kind of the ups and downs through domestic cricket.

So by the time you get to, well, for my sake, in my instance, you know, by the time I got to international cricket, I'd had I've had success.

I've had setbacks.

So I think that sort of puts you in good stead when you're sort of a little bit more of a weathered cricketer.

I know it probably depends a lot on match situation, but do you have a general bowling strategy in 50-over

It's about 15 watt bikes behind us so an unbelievable facility we train in here three times a week as lightning players at three o'clock so we've got a brilliant group that train throughout the day it's also a public gym so there'll be elite times and public times so the students will be in here we'll come in here as elite teams as do other elite teams the netballers use this a lot as well and that's kind of how both gyms function so you can come in as a normal person tap in or in groups this is one of the best things about Loughborough isn't it the facilities that we have

Yeah, essentially, there's not a lot to say because it speaks for itself.

I say to anyone I'm trying to recruit or want to come to university or to Lightning, come to the environment, because as soon as you come to the environment, you'll want to come to Loughborough.

We have, like you say, essentially, we have our gym times from three till four during the day as Lightning.

However, all the students, they're invited to those gym times.

Obviously, lectures permitting.

But yeah, like you could be...

So obviously we don't have too many games left of the season, but what are the goals and then I guess looking ahead to next season as well for