In an interview with PakPassion.net , Vincent spoke about his own career, some of the great opponents he has faced, New Zealand cricket and it's future, the Indian Cricket League and his plans for the future.

Lou Vincent was thrown into the deep end when at the age of 23 he debuted for New Zealand against the unstoppable Australian juggernaut which included Glen McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee in 2001. 

In that debut Test Vincent scored a century opening against the new ball on a bouncy Perth pitch and also made a half century in the second innings.

Over a 40 innings Test career Vincent made 3 test centuries and 9 half centuries and averaged just under 35. In a 102 game One Day International career he made 3 centuries including a 120 ball one day best of 172 against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 2005. In addition Vincent also has 11 half centuries in the 50 over format.

An excellent fielder and a bundle of energy in the field, Vincent played for Auckland from 1997 to 2008 competing in the State Championship first class competition, the State Shield domestic one day competition and the state twenty20 competition. In 2006, Vincent signed for Worcestershire to play county cricket for part of the English season. He also has had spells with Lancashire and Sussex in county cricket.

The 33 year old right hand batsmen last played international cricket in December 2007. Currently in the UK where his latest project has been living out of a bus and working on his own website (www.whereislou.co.uk)

In an interview with PakPassion.net ; Vincent spoke about his own career, some of the great opponents he has faced, New Zealand cricket and it's future, the Indian Cricket League and his plans for the future. 

Many thanks to Lou and don't forget to visit his website :-

www.whereislou.co.uk

PakPassion.net: How did you get into cricket? Was somebody within the family already playing cricket or was it a case of it being a sport that you liked and wanted to do on a professional basis? 

Lou Vincent: No, I think when you’re young you don’t really think about being a professional, what you do is just start something off and mind you when I started off myself, I was four years old. My father was a great, talented all-round sportsman, he was mainly a tennis player and a basketball player, so sports was in the genes. 

Then I just started playing cricket and it really took off from there. I joined my first team when I was 5 years old. I remember crying the first time I ever got out because I didn’t know I had to go off the field – I thought I could stay on the field and keep batting, but the umpire said ‘no’ so I cried. [laughs]

PakPassion.net: The last time I met you was at Hove when Sussex were playing against Hampshire in a Twenty20 match. You’re not with Sussex at the moment – what are you up to these days? 

Lou Vincent: This year I’m doing something completely random. I’ve decided to live in a bus for 5 months and I’m playing a lot of cricket all around the UK, playing 75-80 games. I’ve got myself a camera and on my journeys I’m coming across famous people and interviewing them. Pretty much anyone can find my journey on my website which is www.whereislou.co.uk. 
It’ll be interesting for all to see what I’m up to and the people I’m interviewing – it’s amazing. I’ve met Chris Gayle, Viv Richards, and the list goes on. It’s been great.

PakPassion.net: You were telling me earlier that you met Sachin Tendulkar recently. Was that for aninterview or just a chat? 

Lou Vincent: No, no, I was at Lords for an event today for the ESPN indoor cricket challenge. Sachin was there with his son. He’s obviously been very busy, and he is on holiday, so as a good family man he is with his son and his son obviously wants to play cricket. So there he was feeding the bowling machine to his boy and fortunately enough Sachin had five minutes to have a little chat about bits and pieces. I told him what I’ve been up to this summer and hopefully I’m hoping, fingers crossed I’ll be able to get Sachin at the back of the bus for an interview and have a sing along at some stage. 

PakPassion.net: Going back to 2001 – your Test debut at Perth against a formidable bowling attack of McGrath, Gillespie, Warne, Brett Lee – there haven’t been many better bowling attacks in the history of the game. Tell us about that match – you made a century and a half century. How did you feel going into the game, during the game and obviously after it? 

Lou Vincent: Well, I had spent the whole tour just carrying the drinks. So to be given a nod for the final Test match at Perth, I was extremely honoured and the feeling of excitement was there. There were a little bit of nerves, but I think when you are 23 and playing against the best in the world, there is nothing to lose. So I wasn’t nervous through being scared, it was just the excitement of being on the same park as these legendary Australian players. 

From the first moment looking up to see Glenn McGrath at the top of the mark and then not seeing any fielders in front of me I thought I was the only one out there with McGrath. Then I turned around to see Gilchrist and 10 slips behind me. Then I realised it was the whole Australian team out there smiling and licking their lips. 

The feeling of getting a century on debut I will live with the rest of my life as one of the many achievements I experienced before going onto the next world. You quickly get brought back down to earth. I remember coming home and everyone was like “Wow. You’ve done amazing.” In the very next game that I was playing against Bangladesh, I got a first ball duck! So you go from being a hero to zero in the space of a couple of balls.

PakPassion.net: As you were a new kid on the block facing the Aussies at Perth, there must have been some "friendly" advice from the Australian bowlers and fielders? 

Lou Vincent: [laughs] I remember Steve Waugh walking up to me before I faced my first ball and said “Yeah it’s alright Lou. Everyone gets a duck in their first game.

PakPassion.net: So when you reached your century, did you say anything in 
response to Steve Waugh? 

Lou Vincent: Not at all. I’ve got the most respect ever for any international cricket and especially Steve Waugh. It was actually about the third ball of the over that I sent to the boundary to bring up my century. At the end of the over I was at the non-striker’s end and just looking at the ground gathering my thoughts and all of a sudden, Steve Waugh was right in front of me and just put his hand out for a handshake and said ‘well batted’. I will always remember that for the rest of my life – Steve Waugh shook my hand at the end of the over and said ‘well batted’.

PakPassion.net: Lou, you opened on debut in the Test match and batted at number 5 on your ODI debut. You seemed to fluctuate in the batting order quite often for New Zealand. What do you feel was your best batting position in the two predominant formats that you played? 

Lou Vincent: I think there is no question about it in the one dayers, that I liked to open the batting with the white ball. I liked batting up there and use my skills to hit the ball over the top. In the Test matches, I never thought of myself as a full time opener, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I think any player has got to learn to bat in any position. That was what was offered to me and I tried to take it with both hands. I guess over the course of my career I have been very up and down. I think my nature of play was probably a little bit too loose at times for New Zealand conditions. What it comes down to, is having confidence in my ability and understanding of my game, which took a long time to work out.

PakPassion.net:What would you say was your best ever innings in any format? 

Lou Vincent: Well! [pause] There have been some clubs games in the hardest conditions where it’s dark and raining and I’ve gone on to win games for my team. There’s so many memorable moments, not just playing international cricket. Even a club game in the middle of London where there is no one else watching and you do well. It’s hard to explain and talk about one particular innings, but there’s been so many.

PakPassion.net:You have already mentioned guys like Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar. Who would you say was the best batsmen you have either play alongside or against? 

Lou Vincent: Just recently I have played alongside Mohammad Yousuf. He’s been playing for the Lashings team and to watch that guy up close, he’s an amazing artist of the game.

PakPassion.net:The fastest spell of bowling you have ever faced, who was it by and where was that spell? 

Lou Vincent: The fastest ball I have ever faced was Shaun Tait, but the fastest spell was by Shoaib Aktar. I remember him steaming in pretty quick. He was either trying to knock the stumps out off the ground or hit me on the head and it was pretty testing to get through that for 3-4 overs! That was in a test match in Lahore (May, 2002) where Inzamam made 329 runs.

PakPassion.net:Lou, you joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and that decision was met with some criticism by New Zealand Cricket. Any regrets over that decision? 

Lou Vincent: It was the right decision for me to make as I was 28 at that time and had enough of cricket in New Zealand - I didn’t like the person I was becoming. I decided to have a break from cricket there and that made me move to the UK. The ICL was the only job I had at that particular time and I was very grateful for the contract that was offered to me to help me keep paying my bills. It’s sad that it didn’t go on for very long but I made a lot of friends due to that tournament and I really enjoyed the competition.

PakPassion.net: You have always been a fantastic fielder – someone who really enjoys his fielding. What, in your view, are the key ingredients of being a good fielder?

Lou Vincent: You have to look at the effort that the bowlers put in and when you take a catch for a bowler or assist in a run out then it’s an amazing feeling. You feel like you’ve been part of getting the ten wickets that are needed for each innings. 

To me personally, I just had a massive pride in creating an opportunity and doing my job for the team. You know when you get an amazing stop and then you stand up and throw the stumps down and get a wicket, that’s your wicket. It’s like being a bowler. I’m obviously not good enough to be a bowler of the highest standard, but this is my way to get my name in the book.

PakPassion.net: Kevin Pietersen has stepped down from the One Day format and subsequently will not be selected for Twenty20 internationals. Your thoughts on that decision? Do you see more players following KP’s lead?

Lou Vincent: To be fair, you never know what goes on behind closed doors. He’s obviously made his decision to concentrate on test cricket and perhaps being a freelance Twenty20 player around the world. Who knows. You have to respect what he’s done, and I’m sure the next person that comes into the England team will make sure they take that opportunity and take that spot. 

PakPassion.net: You have played a lot of Twenty20 cricket yourself around the world. Do you see this being a regular thing, where quite a few cricketers will be playing Twenty20 tournaments around the world rather than for their national teams. 

Lou Vincent: I think for the top guns it’s an opportunity, absolutely. You look at Chris Gayle and what he’s made in the last few years. The New Zealand guys have got to make big decisions as to whether they stay on and play for New Zealand for the tour to England. Some of those guys have got to make the tough decisions whether they play for country or money in the bank. I have respect both ways. Guys have to make as much money as they can before they retire. 

PakPassion.net: Must make it tougher when the ICC announce as they have that there will be no window for the IPL? 

Lou Vincent: Well that’s exactly right. Yes it makes for some interesting time ahead.

PakPassion.net: There are some concerns on the future of one day cricket with Twenty20 cricket becoming very popular around the world. What are your thoughts on one day cricket, what changes need to be made, if any to maintain it's popularity?

Lou Vincent: I just think every element of cricket has its different appeal. You got people that purely just watch test cricket. Then you’ve got the modern age crowd that support the Twenty20 game because you can get down to the game for a couple of hours. But I still think there is still room for 50 over cricket. 

Just at the last World Cup we saw some amazing games. It’s nice to have that bridge between Twenty20 and test cricket. Twenty20 cricket there is no patience and you have just got to go – bang, bang, bang while test cricket is all about patience. I think 50 over cricket has got a balance of patience and boom boom boom. I think the formats are spot on at the moment. It is all about not losing the quality by having too much cricket. At times, we are just seeing too much cricket.

PakPassion.net: New Zealand has always produced some excellent and exciting cricketers, but unfortunately they are yet to win a major tournament on the world stage. What do you think is the missing ingredient?

Lou Vincent: We have always been a semi finalist team and I think that is a reflection on New Zealand punching above their weight. I mean we are talking an island of around 4 million people that only plays cricket 5 months a year. I am very proud to see what New Zealand has achieved. I have a strong feeling that next world cup, our boys are going to get pretty close.

PakPassion.net: With regards to New Zealand domestic cricket, any recommendations on how it can be improved? Any restructuring needed?

Lou Vincent: No, I think New Zealand Cricket have kept the game running in a healthy way. It’s like anywhere in the world, you have got to have your product performing which attracts people to the event. I think other places around the world have struggled financially but I think New Zealand have done very well to maintain a healthy game and always improving

PakPassion.net: Lou coming on to Jesse Ryder, obviously he’s not part of the contracted players this time with New Zealand. He’s had his ups and downs, fantastic cricketer, lot of ability, great to watch as well, any advice for Jesse from yourself? 

Lou Vincent: Well certain stages of our lives, whether we are cricketers or in other professions, we have gone through times when we may have a bit of stress or lose direction. It is important at such times to have a support team around you. 

From personal experience, having good friends and having family, helps you get through tough times. I’m sure Jesse will balance that, because the class is there. I’ve got no issues with Jesse being lost to the game, I reckon we haven’t seen the best of him yet. 

PakPassion.net: Lou, you did some coaching recently for Hong Kong, how did that go and is it something that you would like to do once you have stopped playing cricket yourself? 

Lou Vincent: Absolutely, I thoroughly enjoyed my time out there and you know we were ranked 26th in the world, we got through to the (T20 WC) qualifier tournament in Dubai and we were the last ones to qualify and I think we ended up 11th. I also enjoyed bringing 5 of my best batsmen to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The whole coaching staff welcomed us and provided us with fantastic facilities for my boys for 5 days in February. 

PakPassion.net: The Hong Kong assignment, is that long-term or was that just a one-off? What’s happening with that? 

Lou Vincent: That was just a one-off at this stage and it’s something I’ll definitely consider doing again in the future, but at this stage I’m concentrating on my little project (whereislou.co.uk) and obviously I’m still wanting to play as well. There’s plenty of time to coach in future. 

PakPassion.net: You mentioned about still wanting to play. While you are still playing First Class cricket, there must be that hope of international cricket? 

Lou Vincent: I don’t know where my cricket is going, I don’t belong in the UK, I’m 33 and the rulings over here don’t really support non-English qualified players. You know, I don’t know, I’m thinking positive, I’m enjoying my cricket at the moment, even though it’s club cricket. I’m hoping to get back on the professional career again. Auckland has been invited to India for the Champions League so I’m looking forward to joining the squad if selected in September.

PakPassion.net: Your time today is greatly appreciated and I’m sure I speak on behalf of many millions of cricket lovers around the world when I say you have brought a lot of entertainment and enjoyment whenever and wherever you have played. 

Lou Vincent: Thank you. If you want some more laughs, please do visit my website and you will enjoy it. I have had such a good laugh with my interviews and my singing.

Discuss!