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Nasser Hussain visits Sporting Memories in Leeds

We were thrilled to welcome former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain to a special Sporting Memories session at Holt Park Active Leisure Centre alongside members and volunteers from several Clubs across Leeds to share his journey through the sport.

It was a packed crowd for our event with Nasser to hear about his career, from starting playing at a young age to his role now as one of the leading cricket broadcasters in the world.

Journey through his playing career

Nasser spoke in great detail about his career to our members in attendance and started off by recollecting his childhood memories of moving to the UK at the age of six from India, where his father ignited his passion for cricket into his son.

Both his mum and dad were huge supporters of Nasser’s career, and he would call his father after every game to report on the match and his own performance. One of Nasser’s fondest memories was calling his dad to tell him that he had been selected as the England captain.

His father was the first person Nasser shared the news with and he remembered there was silence on the other end due to his dad being very emotional at the news!

Nasser had a glittering career for his country spanning 15 years and he talked about the importance of his partnership with head coach Duncan Fletcher during his captaincy as a significant time for him and the national team.

It was in this period when central contracts were introduced, with Nasser stating to the Sporting Memories members in attendance that this felt like a pivotal moment in the England team to becoming ‘a proper team’ rather than a group of individuals who were selected that would just turn up for individual matches.

After his successful playing career, Nasser moved into broadcasting, joining Sky as a cricket pundit and commentator where he is currently one of the most recognisable figures in the game.

Nasser reflected on the initial switch from playing to commentating, stating how in awe he was when he first entered the commentary box – with  so many of his heroes already in the booth – including the likes of Ian Botham and David Gower.

He also reflected on the many characters he has commentated alongside, including David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, a former England player and coach. Nasser told the audience of his admiration for ‘Bumble’, describing him as ‘exactly how you see and hear him is how he is!’

Quizzing Nasser and getting active

It was then the turn of our Club members to have the chance to ask Nasser a few questions on his career and his life in general.

There was a range of questions thrown Nasser’s way including his thoughts on the Indian Premier League, his memories and connections to Yorkshire, with the session taking place in Leeds. Also, he was asked about his memories of a young Alastair Cook whilst they were both playing for Essex CCC; and his support for two football teams – Arsenal and Leeds United!

Nasser was very personable with our members and answered all the questions put his way in an entertaining manner – including stating that unlike Tyson Fury, he will not be coming out of retirement!

The Q&A session was followed by a short inclusive game of mini cricket where some of the Club members bowled a few balls at Nasser who defended his wicket gamely with an incredibly small bat!

The day wrapped up with a short quiz on Nasser’s career before members had the chance to take photos with him.

A gift to wrap up a brilliant day

As the session drew to a close, Nasser then kindly gifted Sporting Memories a piece of his own memorabilia – a specially framed presentation from the MCC in honour of his final Test Match, where he scored a hundred in the final innings to secure a victory over New Zealand. You can see below Nasser presenting the frame to our Co-Founder and CEO Chris Wilkins.

Speaking about Nasser’s visit to Sporting Memories, Chris said: “It was a brilliant morning with Nasser and we’re thankful to him for making the time to speak with our Club members from across Leeds.

“Nasser’s insights into how he made his way through the sport, with the support of his family and coaches was something that our members truly cherished – with many of them being huge cricket fans. We were also incredibly grateful that Nasser presented us with the scorecard from his final match for England.

“I’d also like to say a special thanks to our partners at Sky for making Nasser’s visit possible and to Simon Webster, our Leeds based volunteer who works for Sky, and our ambassador Malcolm Hall for making the session enjoyable for everyone in attendance.”