In the second of a two-part feature, our Academy Player in the spotlight for April, Chris Gibson, tells trentbridge.co.uk how he's hoping to make those back home in Cornwall proud of his achievements.
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It was through his dad, Nick, a coach at Praze Cricket Club in Praze-an-Beel, a village not too far from the Cornish seaside resorts of St Ives and Falmouth, that Chris Gibson first became enthused by the game he now hopes will become a career.
After starting out playing Kwik Cricket, his game progressed and a move followed to nearby Camborne Cricket Club, a Senior League Division One side.
“A coach called Sean Hooper, who I did a lot of work with from about the age of 10, has a link with Notts,” recalls Gibson. “Chris Tolley (former Notts Academy Director) came down to watch me before I went on a couple of tours and it went from there.
“It’s unreal to be at a Club like Notts and at a ground like Trent Bridge, where there is such a good set-up.
“It’s unreal to be at a Club like Notts and at a ground like Trent Bridge.”
“I live in a house in Lady Bay with two other lads – Tom Keast and Tim Wyatt – and we get on really well. We all cook for each other and chill out together after games, watching TV and Netflix.”
Right-hander Gibson has aspirations of representing England Under-19s this summer, his final year in that age bracket, insisting it is ‘one of his goals’.
He is taking inspiration at Trent Bridge from a fellow Cornishman who is opening the batting – and wants to follow in his footsteps in the future.
Gibson says: “Jake Libby is a role model for me, not just because he’s from Cornwall like me, but also the way he bats at the top of the order.
“He tries to bat long periods of time, which is how I go about things. I try not to get fussed about playing and missing and I’m quite prepared to leave the ball and play out maidens when needs be.
“I then look to pick off the bad ball and hopefully frustrate the bowlers. I know if I leave well then they’re likely to alter their line and bowl into my pads, and that’s when I can cash in.
“I love watching Joe Root, but I suppose everyone does, don’t they? Alastair Cook is another idol of mine. It’s just the way he goes about his business.
“He’s the kind of batsman I want to be. I know that personally I don’t have a lot of natural, big-hitting ability but you can still make it as a player in a different sort of way.”
“I don't have a lot of natural, big-hitting ability, but you can still make it as a player in a different sort of way.”
Gibson is immensely grateful for the support that continues to come in from those he has left behind to pursue a first-class career in the Midlands.
Like others before him, he’s keen to represent his home county with distinction and do them proud.
“It’s a source of encouragement for me and everyone else down there. You can see players like Libs, Ben Kitt and Tim Wyatt and think that if they can do it, so can I.
“It’s nice to get lots of people from back home messaging you when you’ve done well, like they did when I got the hundred against Loughborough, and shows that Cornish people are proud of their cricket.”
Read part one of the feature here.
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