6 days Ago By Chris Stocks
Michael Pepper is the future England player who has leaned into his South African heritage having been mentored by Gary Kirsten and modelled his game on the great AB de Villiers.When you meet the 26-year-old, who was called up for England’s white-ball tour of the West Indies last winter following a stellar summer for Essex, the first thing you notice is that his accent is more Cape Town than Cambridge.Having been born in Harlow, Essex, and grown up in East Anglia, there is no doubt where Pepper’s loyalties lie.
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addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }#color-context-related-article-3598772 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square CRICKET Meet the Aussie who could play for England in the AshesRead MoreYet he has tapped into his South African heritage that comes from his mother, Marilse, to make Cape Town a second home during the English winters.Just as he had done for the past six years, Pepper based himself in the Western Cape last winter in between his franchise stints in the International League T20 and Abu Dhabi T10 competitions in the United Arab Emirates.There he taps into the knowledge of Kirsten, the former South African player who is one of the greatest coaches of the modern era.
“Every winter I try and base myself in Cape Town and then he’s the main coach in the area and one of the best around,” Pepper tells The i Paper.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }“He’s coached some of the best teams in the world, learned from the best players in the world as well as him being an unbelievable player himself.“Every year I go back to see him for one-to-one sessions and technically as a coach he’s been brilliant.
I try to see him every year, get a few sessions in with him and work mainly on technique”Having made his debut for Essex in 2018, last summer was a breakthrough for Pepper.As well as hitting two hundreds in the Blast, his 32 sixes were seven more than anyone else and he scored his first two centuries in the County Championship.Michael Pepper in action for London Spirit in the Hundred (Photo: Getty)It’s why England came calling at the start of last winter when Jos Buttler was ruled out of that tour of the Caribbean through injury.
Even though Pepper did not play in either the T20 or one-day series, it was an experience that has left him wanting more.“Yeah, 100 per cent,” he says. “The call-up came as quite a shock but obviously it was unbelievable.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }“Every cricketer’s dream is to play for your country so to go there and learn from some of the best in the world, travelling around those islands, everything about it was an unbelievable experience.“Getting that close and being on the tour just makes you realise you want more.”There’s every chance Pepper, who can bat anywhere in the top six in either format and keep wicket, is called up this summer given the state of flux England’s white-ball set-up is in after last month’s shocking first-round exit from the Champions Trophy and the resignation of Buttler as captain.
Indeed, coach Brendon McCullum is likely to want to freshen things up once Buttler’s successor is appointed.#color-context-related-article-3594750 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square CRICKET .inews__post__label__sports-analysis{background-color: #8bc419;color: #ffffff;}Sport AnalysisSix England captaincy contenders - ranked by how likely they are to get the jobRead MoreIf that were to happen, it would again open up the possibility of Pepper opening the batting alongside his culinary namesake Phil Salt.
This was a running joke during that Caribbean tour but Pepper admits: “It was all fun. Me and Phil had a little joke about it. I get on quite well with him so it’s all good.
”Strength work has taken Pepper’s game up another level and allowed him to more successfully ape the technique of his childhood hero, De Villiers, arguably the most destructive cross-format batter ever.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l3"}); }Like De Villiers, Pepper is a keeper-batter and feels his formative years playing hockey, golf and tennis have helped his batting.“Funnily enough I wasn’t a keeper growing up but AB was still always my hero,” he says.
“It was always AB. Growing up watching AB with all his scoops and sweeps; that’s where I tried to get a lot of it from, by watching him, seeing the way he does it.“I was taking notes from him and he also played all the different sports growing up as did I, and that helps.
I don’t know whether it’s the hand-eye co-ordination from different sports.”Pepper will also be rubbing shoulders with another great of the game this summer after being picked up by Northern Superchargers, coached by Andrew Flintoff, in the Hundred draft.“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he says.
“I watched him growing up and he was unbelievable. I’ve not worked with him yet but I’ve had great reports. It should be exciting.
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