JL is not only a great cricketer, he is also an excellent writer. He is a correspondant for the CricInfo site, has also written for the Middlesex site, and has even released his own book. He lists writing as one of the ways he relaxes, and he has a real talent for it - definately a career there for him after cricket.
Here are some examples of Justin's writing for you to read. His writing gives you amazing insights into the life of an international cricketer:
JL has written his own book, called 'From outback to outfield'. It's the story of the '98 season he spent playing for Middlesex CC in England.
The book is definately worth buying yourself - very interesting protrayal of the positives and negatives of English cricket, and includes many funny tales about both cricket and his family life. The book is published by Hodder Headline (ISBN 0 472 2261 4). To get a hold of it click here to email Hodder Headline and they will tell you the location of your nearest stockist.
Click HERE to read an extract from Justin's book
Follow this link to read Justin's writing for 'The Times' newspaper in 1999.
This extract of Justin's writing is from his June 1999 diary, taken from the Middlesex CC site
Firstly it is fantastic to be back with Middlesex CCC after a disappointing first season in 1998. It was a great privilege receiving the Seaxe award for the cricketer of the year last summer and I look forward to working closely with Ramps this season to repeat the form with the bat and help our rejuvenated squad get back to where we all want to be. The atmosphere in the changing room this season has been very upbeat and I for one am confident that we have the experience and youthful enthusiasm to enjoy an excellent season.
Recently I had a day off the hectic county cricket conveyer belt. This presented me with the perfect opportunity to spend the morning in the local park with my daughter. Walking hand in hand with Jessica, it was not the beautiful blue sky or the warm air that caught my attention but rather the lack of youngsters running around with a cricket bat and ball in their hand. On a perfect London morning there were kids everywhere playing on the slides and swings, eating packets of crisps and ice creams and kicking around a football in their favourite football tops. With the cricket season well and truly upon us I was surprised at the lack of kids playing the summer sport of kings. I found it interesting to see so many kids aspiring to be the next Michael Owen or David Beckham, running riot with a ball attached to their feet with not one Darren Gough or Graham Thorpe ‘wannabe’ in sight.
This park scene is very foreign to me as in Australia it is hard to drive a mile without seeing a mini test match being played out between kids of all shapes and sizes. In the summer cricket is huge, being our number one sport followed with the same proud interest as Aussie rules football is in the winter. The local parks, beaches and front gardens provide the ideal setting for an Ashes test match or World Cup one-day international.
Australia is not unlike many of the other countries I have visited throughout my cricket career. I remember the two occasions that I have visited Colombo in Sri Lanka. Both times it has been exciting to see the masses of people playing cricket along the esplanade on a Sunday morning outside the city centre. In Pakistan cricket is played in every spare open space, just as it is in India and the shantytowns of South Africa. Although basketball is taking its toll on numbers in the West Indies there are still cricket games running everywhere you look. In the poorer parts of these countries the facilities aren’t anything like the beautiful park that I was in this morning and a bat is often a lump of wood or a piece of plastic piping but nevertheless, cricket is alive and well. In this country football seems to rule the minds of everyone from kids to their parents. The kid’s heroes seem to play for Manchester United or Arsenal rather than Lancashire, Middlesex or even England.
I know many of the county clubs are trying to address this situation as they work overtime to take cricket to the schools around the country. It is pleasing for me to see Middlesex’s concerted effort to increase the numbers of children playing or at least interested in the game. Two days before the World Cup commenced the club ran a day of ‘quick cricket’ for the local schools. On this particular Saturday morning there must have been two hundred kids and their parents playing cricket around the Southgate cricket fields. It was a magical sight seeing young boys and girls having a fantastic time hitting sixes, taking spectacular catches and bowling Darren Gough yorkers. Even though it was a fairly normal sight for me, I was thrilled to be involved in such a positive exhibition of kids just having fun. Starting at the grass roots level can only help in the future development of English cricket, which is currently taking a battering at all levels in comparison to many other countries and codes.
If the ‘big boys’ can some how improve their overall rating in both forms of the game, the game of cricket can only prosper in England. In my opinion this should be the major priority for those people with the job of keeping our great game alive and well in this country. England bowing out of the World Cup is more damaging than just the disgrace and disappointment of losing. Unfortunately another perfect opportunity to bring the game to the masses has been ruined by the host nation performing poorly in the crucial games. The international players have a major role to play in keeping the traditions of the game attractive and strong. Hopefully it will be this responsibility that spurs on the players to find the answers to how they can perform more consistently for their country and for the sake of the game.
One of my goals this summer is to see Middlesex playing attractive and positive cricket that will help bring people through the gates to enjoy the best game in the world. At Middlesex I know we are all moving in the same direction to help the game of cricket prosper not only in London, but also throughout the country.
Click here to read more of Justin's writing
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