Swindells relishes working with Nixon

The year of 2017 was something of a breakthrough for young wicket-keeper Harry Swindells, signing his first professional contract and making his England Under 19s debut.

Swindells has continued his development over the winter, recently reporting back to the Fischer County Ground after a five month period in Australia where he was playing for Balwyn Cricket Club, based in Melbourne. 

For the recently turned 19-year-old this was the first sustained period of time away from home and something that he had to adapt to. Swindells was staying with an overseas professional, Peter Dickson, who he had played club cricket with for Leicester Ivanhoe.

Dickson played for Australia Under 19s and currently captains Fitzroy Doncaster in First Grade cricket and it was him who sorted Swindells out with a club. As well as playing for Balwyn, Swindells was invited to train with Fitzroy where he was able to face First Grade bowlers such as Trent Lawford, who represented Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League. 

When reflecting on his time Down Under, Swindells said: “Five months away from home was a massive thing for me to do and as both a player and person it has matured me. Spending that time away is a real step outside of your comfort zone and I've learnt a lot.”

Now that Swindells is back at the FCG he has a chance to work with Head Coach Paul Nixon on both his wicket-keeping and batting.

“I’ve done a little bit of work with Nico [Paul Nixon] before he came back as Head Coach; he coached at the City Cricket Academy [CCA] when I played there and we did some work when I was on the Academy,” said Swindells.

“I love working with him, he inspires me to be better and having played at the highest level it will be great to be able to pick his brain.

“Nico [Paul Nixon] was such an inventive batsman and one of the first players who could hit the ball 360 degrees, that’s something I believe he can really help me with. Working out when to take the attack to the bowler and when to manipulate the strike are vital skills in the modern game."

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