Matt Maher: Rivals are honoured after putting in the hard yards
It will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Joe Leach’s career to discover the Worcestershire all-rounder has once more made a mockery of expectations.
When Leach underwent knee surgery in January, the prognosis was for a three-month recovery which would have seen him miss the start of the season.
Instead, he is ready and raring to go as the Pears start their County Championship campaign at old rivals Warwickshire today.
“We’re way ahead of where we thought we were going to be,” Leach explains. “I was desperate to get back for the start of the season. If selected, hopefully, then I’m ready to go.”
This summer, his 12th as a professional cricketer, is a big one for 33-year-old Leach, who has been awarded a testimonial year as reward for his excellent and ongoing service for the Pears.
At Edgbaston, he will line up against another player in Oliver Hannon-Dalby who has been bestowed with the same increasingly rare honour after more than a decade of work for the Bears.
Their meeting seems the perfect moment to reflect on the careers of two men who, while they might never have troubled the England selectors, have and continue to make important contributions in their respective corners of the Midlands which will be remembered long after they call time on their playing days.
Speaking to the pair over the past week revealed some striking similarities in their ethos and a reminder success in sport, or life for that matter, is less about talent – though both have ample – than desire.
“I am a big believer if you work hard, you are consistent and are a decent person you get what is coming to you,” remarked Leach, just a few days after Hannon-Dalby had sat down at Edgbaston and claimed: “If you work hard and are a nice person, you have every chance in this game. It rewards hard work.”
A willingness to be persistent, while also courteous, is essentially how Hannon-Dalby ended up at the Bears.
Told he had no future at home club Yorkshire at the end of the 2012 season, the Halifax-raised seamer spent the winter ringing round every other county in the hope of getting a trial. Hampshire and Warwickshire were the two who replied, the latter in part because the Bears then bowling coach, Graeme Welch, remembered Hannon-Dalby from pre-season tours when Yorkshire used to share the same base.
“He told me he thought I was an alright lad because I always used to say ‘good morning’ when I walked past him in the hotel,” he explained. “It just goes to show, be polite!”
