It may seem apt to learn that Vikram Solanki is arriving in Dubai just as the England cricket team are preparing to leave.
The former England ODI international is in the UAE as part of the Lord’s Taverners side that will take on Fly Emirates in two games at 7he Sevens this Friday and Sunday.
Tipped as a future Test player when he made the breakthrough with Worcestershire as a youngster, the batsman made 51 one-day appearances for his country but never made the step up to the five-day side.
Speaking ahead of his departure for Dubai, the 35-year-old revealed to Sport360° that while he would have loved to play Test cricket for England, he has no regrets on missing out. “I was like everybody else, I really wanted to play Test cricket for England, I did all I could,” Solanki said. “I probably didn’t score enough runs, had I done so then I might well have got the chance.
“I would have dearly loved the opportunity to have played Test cricket, not for the reason that there was talk when I was young but simply for the fact cricketers hold Test cricket as the pinnacle and it was no different for me.
But as things turned out I had the opportunity to play one-day cricket for England and did so with varying degrees of success at times, and I very much enjoyed my time in the England side as a one-day international.
Solanki will be on hand to impart some of his cricketing knowledge by taking part in coaching clinics at Friday’s Family Cricket Day, alongside a number of other former internationals, including former England captain Mike Gatting.
While the 35-year-old stressed the importance of the charity aspect of the trip – especially looking forward to visiting the Al Noor Centre for Children with Special Needs while in Dubai – he is also expecting some hard cricket.
“My only experience of it was last year but it was made very clear in no uncertain terms that the Fly Emirates side intended to be competitive and they were exactly that,” he added. “They are two competitive games of cricket, they obviously have a light-hearted nature to them and everyone is there supporting the Taverners and the Emirates do a very good job of supporting everything. So, the whole atmosphere is very light-hearted, everybody enjoys the game but there is no question it is a competitive game of cricket.”
As well as Gatting, Solanki will get the chance to relax with some stalwarts of the county game, such as, Surrey’s Chris Adams and Gareth Batty, Yorkshire’s Steve Kirby, and former England international Jon Lewis. For someone entering his 13th year as a county professional, the Worcestershire batsman is looking forward to enjoying the company of players he only usually encounters as opposition.
“More often than not you’re pitting your wits against these guys but on this occasion you’re on the same side, so it’s good to enjoy their company as a team-mate rather than having them in the opposition,” he said. “There are some very experienced cricketers and it’s great to spend time with the likes of Mike Gatting who clearly has a wealth of experience from a cricketing point of view.
“You have an opportunity to talk cricket – and not talk cricket if you see what I mean. You have the opportunity to do so but often you mix with those guys in cricketing circles and while this obviously has two games attached to it, there is the golf day for instance and the gala dinner where you can socialise with these guys on a non-cricketing basis.”
