Cricket: Bats for hire circle globe

Andre Adams. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Hamish Marshall, Lou Vincent and Andre Adams are not must-haves for IPL franchises but are enjoying "have coffin, will travel" lifestyles.

Coffin is a name for cricketers' kit bags. Even though the trio are not wanted by the national selectors, their cricketing lives are still full, albeit at a lower level.

Once the ultimate in off-seasons was an English county contract. In 1983, when New Zealand first won a test in England, Sir Richard Hadlee was at Nottinghamshire, Geoff Howarth at Surrey and John Wright at Derbyshire.

Today's zenith is an Indian Premier League contract which can set players up financially for life. But while whopping cheques are handy, the three former Black Caps are finding there is more to life than exclusive hotels and sanitised Indian culture over six weeks.

Marshall is looking at returning to the international fold with Ireland next April once his four-year standdown from New Zealand is over; but county cricket is the focus for now.

The 31-year-old is entering his fifth season with Gloucestershire, having just helped Northern Districts to a four-day title.

While the cricket is professional and they play at least 90 days a season, there is nothing like sampling the idyllic surrounds during down time.

"I do enjoy it ... in moderation. I like taking off in the car on a Sunday with my fiancee Mags. We grab a feed and a beer at a pub, just enjoying the English way of life.

"My favourite pub is called Racks, about 25 steps from my front door. I've always been a lager man but [former Super rugby halfback] Jason Spice is playing for Bristol and we've had the odd ale together for a different taste. I struggle with the warm stuff though."

Before playing for New Zealand, Marshall had five years at different clubs, including a stint as New Zealand's Young Player to Lord's in 1998. He fondly recalls the club scene on village greens, scones and cakes, and a debrief over a post-match pint at the local.

"The fellas treat it as a passionate hobby. Many roll their arms over and lash on the pads late into their 40s. There's a sense of pure enjoyment."

Vincent is striking a similar life balance, returning for his second season in Nantwich, Cheshire.

He would like to be playing professionally full-time but, having battled depression and the severing of his New Zealand contract when he joined the Indian Cricket League in 2008, it's been the perfect enclave for rehabilitation.

"My goals aren't purely monetary. Instead they are to get me back to living and breathing cricket so I can get contracts around the world. That is as good as I can hope for at the moment.

"There's also that classic village feel. On arriving at the ground you get changed into your whites straight away and start warming up. The English then love a good old team talk. All sorts of warm, fuzzy cliches get rolled out."

As a bat-for-hire, Vincent is fresh off the plane from Sharjah where he played for a side in the PCL, Bangladesh's version of the IPL which took place in the United Arab Emirates.

"We had some interesting team talks there too," he says. "There wasn't a word of English until someone asked 'do you want to add anything, Lou?' I took a deep breath and said 'No, I'm okay'.

"The downside has been that since I got back it's been around five degrees which hasn't made slip catching practice much fun."

The 31-year-old will be eligible to play for England late next year, subject to International Cricket Council approval, but says that is more a quirky piece of trivia than an ambition at the moment.

"All I know is I can play as a local in domestic competitions next year but playing at the top level full-time is the main objective. Tasting it again in New Zealand made me realise how much I miss it. I'm keen to repeat that experience."

Adams is on his way to Nottinghamshire as he continues circuiting the globe with a young family, picking up contracts with relative ease.

He has just completed a stint with Sydney's Sutherland club which saw them finish one-day champions and two-day runners-up, despite the 34-year-old taking 5-35 in a low scoring final.

"Andre can be a fiery competitor and he performed well in all the big games," says club scorer and treasurer Tom Iceton. "His bowling was a class above almost everyone else in the competition.

"A number of batsmen commented he was the best they faced all season.

"In one of the qualifying finals he also made 75 with the bat." Iceton added that it was Adams' input off the field that garnered the most interest.

"Andre mixed well. We've hired blokes in the past who have been all right but didn't socialise with the lower grades - but he was happy having a beer with a fifth grader as much as a first. He embraced the club scene."