As Lancashire prepare to face Kent, former Australian Test batsman Simon Katich has highlighted the club’s professionalism as a major factor in him re-joining the Red Rose.
Katich played a starring role in the season’s curtain-raiser against Worcestershire earlier this month as he began his second spell with the club with a stylish 84.
And the 37-year-old – who spent a month on Lancashire’s books back in 2010 – has nothing but praise for the club’s off the field outlook and approach.
“The thing I was impressed with when I was here in 2010 was the professionalism,” he told the official Lancashire website. “I was only here for a month, but what I saw impressed me.
“I’ve been around county cricket a lot in the past, and I was impressed with a lot of the off field stuff, which is crucial to getting through the season.
“That’s a part of the reason why I did come back. A few of the young guys kicked on the following year, so it didn’t surprise me to see them win the Championship in 2011.”
The Western Australian – who spent last summer with Hampshire – spent the winter playing grade and Twenty20 cricket Down Under with Perth Scorchers before heading off for a spell in Bangladesh.
And having played the last of his 56 Test matches against England in December 2010, Katich believes Lancashire coach Peter Moores can present him with the challenges he now needs.
“When you do finish playing international cricket, there’s something that has to keep driving you,” he added.
“I felt that at this stage of my career, if I was going to get the best out of myself, I needed a bit more prodding.
“And I thought he was probably going to be the guy to be able to do that. That was part of it for me.
“I thought he would be able to extract the best out of me at this stage of my career – obviously you need to extract it yourself, but it helps if there’s someone there to prod you as well.”
And Katich believes the time is right for some of the young talent in the Lancashire squad to push on and make a big contribution as the Red Rose hunt silverware this season.
“There’s no doubt that there are a few guys in the mid-20s range who will now be ready to step up and be big players,” he said.
“If that can happen, hopefully it will help the team get success. That’s the most important thing, for the team to win trophies.”
Image courtesy of Cricket NSW, via YouTube, with thanks
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