Anupam Sanklecha looking forward to Horspath challenge

OVERSEAS star Anupam Sanklecha believes Horspath are shaping up well for the challenge of a new season in the Home Counties Premier League. 

The 38-year-old Indian all-rounder is upbeat about what he has seen of the club and its players so far after arriving in the country last month. 

Anupam Sanklecha

Reflecting on his Horspath debut in the Home Counties T20 at Banbury last weekend, he says: "I didn't play much cricket back home because of lockdown. It was good to play the T20 and get some rhythm and meet all the first-team players. It was good to have a couple of overs before the first league game. 

"I think we are looking really good. I think we have a decent side with a good mix of youth and seniors. It is good for the club to have experienced players and good young players developing. The skipper (Lloyd Belcher) is quite young and I am looking forward to playing the season with him, and we have good characters in our team. 

"I have heard a lot about the club - how they have a friendly and social side. I had offers from first division teams, but when I had the call from Will (Eason) I said ' yes'. I didn't have a second thought. I knew half of the team for five or six years and I have good friends who are here." 

Anupam is no stranger to Division 2, having made a big impact in the league while playing for Shipton-under-Wychwood from 2014-2018, taking 245 league wickets with his right-arm medium-fast bowling. 

"There are good players in the division and it will be a good competition this year," he says. "I have heard a lot of players have been moving to new clubs and they will present quite a challenge. The aim for the club is to get promoted from this division to Division 1. We just need to focus and get the basics right and do our job. That is how you control the controllables. 

"We have to take it ball by ball, over by over and match by match. We can't think of the last game of the season now. We have to focus on every day's work. That is the way I think it should be - don't get ahead of the game, but think about the moment and what we are going to do. We don't need to think about winning or losing. The result will take care of itself. We just need to do our best." 

Anupam was Division 2's leading wicket-taker on two occasions with his best return coming in 2017 when he claimed 63 victims. A left-hand middle-order batsman, he also racked up 1,708 league runs at an average of 27.59 with a top score of 110 not out at Datchet in 2017 when he enjoyed his best campaign with 608 runs. 

Anupam at Horspath training. Pictures: Rob Judges

"I think I have good numbers in this league," he adds. "I will try my best and see how it goes. I don't count as such, but I think I have between 200 and 300 wickets. "I got a few runs for Shipton as well, with a hundred and fifties, so I will try and do that as well." 

The highlight of Anupam's wicket-taking heroics for Shipton came four years ago when he took an amazing 8-8 as Reading were routed for 38. "We were playing a home game," he recalls. "It was a good day to play cricket with lovely weather. I just stuck to my basics of bowling in the right areas and it worked very well for me." 

He isn't, though, setting any personal targets. "When I was at Shipton I never said I will do this or that when it came to so many runs or wickets," he says. "I just want to bowl the right line and length and see how it goes for me. The team have high expectations of me, so I will try and prove them right. It is a team game though. You cannot win the war with one player. Everyone has to play their part." 

Anupam is not just excited about playing for Horspath, but also carrying out his coaching duties as well as offering one-to-one specialist tuition (see the club website home page for details). 

He says: "It is good to perform and win every game, but as well as that my focus is to develop the youth of the club, so in the future we have good players that are coming through. I want to focus on making them technically correct and better players. That is good for myself, the club and their county. 

"Looking at the first, second, third and fourth teams there are a good amount of young players and senior players playing together, so it's a good sign when youngsters are playing in the second, third and fourth teams." 

Anupam has been a stalwart for Maharashtra in the Indian domestic game. Having made his first-class debut for the Pune-based side in November 2004, he has played 61 Ranji Trophy games, taking 215 wickets at an average of 25.40 with 12 five-wicket returns and two ten-wicket match hauls, as well as scoring 1,001 runs. He also represented Mumbai Champs in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) before the introduction of the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

He adds: "I have been playing first-class cricket for 20 years, and I am one of the leading wicket-takers in my county. I played for India Green. In India there is India Green, Red and Blue, which is like England Lions or England A. 

"I got wickets and played with international cricketers and have had a lot of experience of first-class cricket. It's quite difficult to be successful in India as a pace bowler with the dry weather and tracks, so I am happy with the way I served my county."

Posted by: Russ