Robinson to get big kick out of toppling Yorkshire

THERE was a time when Mark Robinson’s sporting dream was to play football for his home-town club.

As a schoolboy, he shone as a cultured centre-half and it seemed only a matter of time before he would sign up for his beloved Hull City.

He was duly picked for the Hull City schoolboys team, and with the Tigers starting to climb the leagues under Colin Appleton and then Brian Horton, Robinson’s future looked bright.

But the teenager found that the closer he got to the professional game, the less he was enjoying it.

There were too many big personalities in the game, and they would dominate proceedings while he wanted to let the football do the talking.

Suddenly he found himself in a quandary. He sought solace in the winter by playing in the Hull Sunday League, while the summer months were spent playing cricket for a local Hull team.

He found he was increasingly enjoying the cricket more than football, and the happier he was the better he bowled.

He reached the point where he was spotted by Northants and suddenly his professional sporting dream had come true, but not in the way he had imagined.

After three years as a fast-medium bowler with Northants, he moved to his home county of Yorkshire and from there he went to Sussex where he finished his playing career.

He then moved into coaching, learning the role under Peter Moores and then taking over as professional cricket manager at Sussex when Moores left to join the England set-up in 2005.

Robinson’s record as head coach since then has been astounding – honours include two County Championships, two successes in the Pro40 League and a Twenty20 title in 2009 – which Robinson, now 45, attributes to some extent to what he learned as a fledgling footballer all those years before.

“With football you have to dominate space and dominate other people, and I found that, at times, I shrank away.

“I was a lot happier with a cricket ball in my hand. Then it is all down to you and how you bowl.

“As a coach, you have to realise that and be a bit more accommodating and warm to the players. In football, I felt a bit out of it at times and you have to keep that in mind and remember how you felt.

“In general, people respond to being given backing, and it’s important to remember that.”

On Saturday, Robinson will be aiming to steer his Sussex charges to success over his home county when they take on Yorkshire in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 competition in Cardiff.

Finals day, with the razzmatazz and the sporting drama, has become for many the pinnacle of the season and is a day Robinson really enjoys.

“We are lucky in that we have got there twice, but how much you enjoy it depends on how long it lasts.

“It you win your semi and get through to the final it is so much better and that is our priority. When you lose the semi-final the day suddenly ends and it’s a bit of an anti-climax so we will be looking to put one over on Yorkshire.

“I know Yorkshire are a tough team and we will be given a real test by them.

“It is many years since I played for them. When I signed you had to be born in Yorkshire to play for them and things are so different now.

“They have a very professional set up, but we will be going into the game full of confidence.

“The players are buzzing and they love this form of cricket. It’s a real adrenaline rush and you can be a hero or a villain in the space of a couple of overs.”

He accepts the 20-over mayhem is not everyone’s cup of tea and the County Championship is still the bread and butter of the game, but for sheer excitement, Saturday will be hard to beat.

“For the players and the fans it’s tremendous. They revel in it and it’s great entertainment. As a coach you don’t really care where the wickets or the runs come from on the day, it’s all about winning.

“Really, the satisfaction for a coach is about watching the team grow and develop, and although you don’t have the money or the egos that you get in football, it is still a balancing act about keeping the squad happy.”

While he does not miss playing football, Hull City will always hold a special place in his heart, and with Sussex playing Yorkshire at Headingley last Sunday he was able to get to the KC Stadium to see the Tigers beat Brighton in the opening league game of the Championship season.

But this weekend will be all about cricket and trying to beat his home county to reach the final.

“You don’t get the crazy salaries in cricket which you get in football, but the desire to win is there to the same extent. We will be wanting to have fun on finals day, but the main aim will be to win.”