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Gubbins’ ‘dream’ hundred watched in secret by his parents
- Updated: May 24, 2016
Middlesex 407 for 9 (Gubbins 109, Robson 99, Stirling 85, Leach 4-64) lead Somerset 376 by 31 runsScorecard
Any young cricketer scoring their maiden first-class century is a moment of self-affirmation and joy. It is vindication for all those hours spent honing technique in the nets in the depths of winter in defiance of more exciting alternatives. Perhaps more than anything it is a moment of relief at an achievement that can never be undone.
Such feelings can only be amplified scoring a maiden century at Lord’s. They can only be amplified by parents lurking furtively in the crowd having desisted from telling their son of their presence for fear of jinxing him. And they are amplified further when a player has three times reached the 90s before.
This was Nick Gubbins’ lot today when he drove Jim Allenby through midwicket for four, before acknowledging the warm applause of his team-mates and the Lord’s crowd: not exuberantly, but with a palpable relish in the moment.
“It’s obviously something that’s been on my mind. Luckily things went my way this morning and I managed to get there,” he reflected, six hours after the event but still jubilant. “I feel a lot more relaxed today than I was tonight. I’m just absolutely delighted. It has been tough – I’ve got myself out in the 90s so to finally get there at Lord’s is a dream come true.
“Words can’t describe that feeling. To walk out at Lord’s as a Middlesex player is as special as it gets, and today just topped that up even more. My parents were here in secret, and it’s my dad’s birthday – the stars aligned and it was one of those days when it all went my way.” Richard Gubbins will be sure to enjoy his 59th birthday tonight.
It has often felt like Gubbins has been condemned to be written about only in relation to another left-hander who progressed from Radley College to opening for Middlesex: one Andrew Strauss. Today Gubbins made a seminal step towards forging his own identity.
“Obviously that connection has been made. It’s a nice connection to have and to have half the career he had would be amazing. I’m not trying to live off it, I’m trying to make my own way in the game and do my own thing.
“He helps me out every now and again. I try not to bother him too much because he’s quite a busy man from what I hear. Converting did come up in one of our …
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