A suburban innings

My first childhood home was a semi in Wealdstone, in the London borough of Harrow: No 6, Beverley Gardens was built in the 1960s and the outside was white-painted pebble dash with black window frames. The garden was long and narrow and had a swing. At the side of the house was a garage with blue doors that had a chain to keep them together.

My parents both worked in the civil service in Whitehall – my dad, Deo, was there for 25 years. That’s how they met. He was born in Guyana, although his parents were from India; my mum’s family were from East Ham. Initially, my parents lived in inner London. They had my sister, Zara, in 1966 and wanted a second child – and more space. Wealdstone was an emerging area. They bought the house in Beverley Gardens for £6,000, and soon after, in 1969, I was born in Bushey hospital.

The house was decorated in 1970s fashion – I remember some pretty lairy wallpaper and a brown three-piece suite. It had three bedrooms – my sister got the bigger room with a wardrobe, which was fair enough, I suppose, as she had more clothes than me. Although my room was small, it was my domain. My dad put up shelves, where I displayed my soldiers and rubbery things like spiders and lizards. My wallpaper and bedspread were an alarming orange and black.

The house had a long concrete driveway, where my dad and I used to play cricket. We’d lay wooden stumps up against the doors for a wicket, and he would bowl at me for hours. I also remember my mum bowling a plastic ball to me when I was about three. I had a plastic bat and I used to try to hit the ball to the windows at the back of the house.

Cricket first caught my attention on the television in 1975. I really liked Tony Greig, the England captain at the time. Then there was the hot summer of 1976, when Viv Richards was making a lot of runs. Those two players stood out for me, although I also liked David Steele and the late Bob Woolmer. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Richards play live. My dad took me along to Lords, to a one-day international in 1984. We sat on the grass and ate fried chicken. Richards batted brilliantly – he got 80 not out and won the game.

My sister and I went to a primary school near our house called Belmont. Just around the corner was a place called Belmont Circle, which was exactly that: a big roundabout and a circular parade of shops. We’d go round there to the post office and the sweet shop. We got a little pocket money at weekends, probably 20p or 30p, but that bought quite a few sweets. All the local kids went to the same school. I used to play football with the kids next door on the grass verge outside our house, and we’d ride our bikes around. It was all pretty relaxed.

When we were kids, we used to have regular kids’ food: hot dogs and fish fingers. Dad cooked now and again, but my mum did most of it. After she had us, she gave up her job and worked part time as a temp. She is an excellent cook; her best dish is probably roast lamb. My sister and I had to do the washing-up. We always ate in the dining room, as the kitchen was small, so small, in fact, I seem to remember the washing machine was in the garage.

We used to have great Christmases at Beverley Gardens. All the family on my mum’s side would come round. My father had two brothers in this country and we’d see them over Christmas too. We always had a big party on Boxing Day with loads of people, food and music, and we’d have fun doing the hokey cokey. I got my first proper cricket bat for Christmas when I was eight. It was wrapped up tightly and put under the tree. I remember being so excited that I wrestled off a bit of wrapping paper to have a sneak preview. The following Christmas, I got my first pads and gloves, and I put them on and went straight outside to play, even though the temperature was something like minus two.

In 1978, when I was nine, we moved to Hatch End. I really didn’t want to go – I had to change schools and I didn’t want to leave my friends. But it turned out to be a great move. The new house had four bedrooms and a nicer garden, and I got a bigger room. And that was where my cricket career began: the first weekend after we moved in, we walked round the corner to a local park and there was a cricket match going on. My dad used to play in Guyana for the civil-service team, and he got talking to the players. As a result, he joined the local club, Parkfield. I’d watch and play in the nets, and eventually I joined the boys’ section.

When I was 13 or 14, playing for Middlesex Boys, I started to score a lot of runs. I was playing two years above my age group and it was then that people started to say I had a bright future. My dad must take the credit for my career – he gave me my love of cricket on that concrete driveway when I was a boy. My parents are still in Hatch End and I live only 10 minutes away. My dad doesn’t play any more, but he’s very interested in all my matches and he still talks a good game.

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

• First-time buyer

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers