Hick: Always gave his best

I think apart from Graham Gooch he is probably the best player England have had domestically in the last quarter of the century.

Bob Willis on Graeme Hick
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Bob Willis has high praise for Graeme Hick who has announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Hick has enjoyed a prolific County Championship career with Worcestershire and has scored 136 first-class centuries.

The 42-year-old last played for England in March 2001 but on the county scene he continued to be a potent force with the bat despite his advancing years.

A royal player

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Bob Willis says that it was his love for his county that kept Hick going for so long.

"I think his love for Worcestershire county cricket club really kept him going," said Willis.

"He decided to go to Worcestershire after he left Zimbabwe and that club has been very close to his heart and they have both been very good for one another.

"Although Graeme's England career did not work out as well as he would have liked, he has loved playing at New Road.

"Other career opportunities have presented themselves over the last two or three years. He really enjoyed playing at New Road and he delayed any career path until he felt he could not play any more.

"Obviously that time has arrived, he has currently an elbow injury that is keeping him from playing and the older you get, as I know from bitter experience, the harder it is to shake these injuries."

Unfulfilled potential

Hick's England career was not what many expected, however Willis believes that under the current England set-up he could have fulfilled his potential.

"He made his debut at a very difficult time in 1991 with the West Indies fast bowlers in their pomp and quite honestly he had never faced bowling of that quality before," added Willis.

"He rather unkindly became known as a flat track bully in county cricket smashing medium paced bowlers all around the park.

"When the quickies targeted him at the start of that 1991 Test series he found life rather difficult indeed and rather like a Premier League footballer being transferred and then not being able to score a goal for his new club, Hick did not make any runs initially for England. And that rather sealed his fate.

"The game is very much played in the head and I think he suffered to some degree like Mark Ramprakash that so much was expected of him and his domestic form was so dominating that people could not understand why he could not transfer this to the top level.

"But as I know, having played against the West Indies at the start of the 1980s, it was basically impossible to cross swords with them. They were an awesome power in those days and having four fast bowlers bowling at you all day mostly at your chest and head is not a pleasant experience for anybody.

"Very few players, Graham Gooch and Alan Lamb spring to mind, but very few others had any success against them at all.

"I think in another era things would have been different for him and for Ramprakash as well. Central contacts have revolutionised the England side and the change of management recently and the change of captaincy has helped the team.

"Those things along the way would have helped Graeme Hick. He was always a willing player for England and I think if he had a few more rest periods and a little bit more concentrated specialist coaching early in his career he could have been the world beater that everyone thought he was going to be at the start of his career.

"He was a demolition merchant and with the one-day game coming to the fore, he became more of a power. And I think apart from Graham Gooch he is probably the best player England have had domestically in the last quarter of a century. No praise can be too high for his efforts for Worcestershire.

"He always gave his best for England, he always behaved immaculately on the field and one often forgets the contribution he made as a slip fielder and an as an occasional bowler."