Iain Fletcher: A dream beyond price

'COME ON Ace, be honest. The money must be weighing on your mind," I said to Owais Shah, Middlesex stalwart and current one day and Twenty20 specialist for England. By Saturday, teams he is involved with could have won $20,400,000. Yes, that is twenty million four hundred thousand dollars.

First there is the domestic champions match between his county Middlesex and Trinidad and Tobago for the princely sum of $400,000. Then, on Saturday the one that would have Tory financiers swimming to Russian oligarch yachts through shark infested waters, the $20m winner-takes-all between England and Stanford's All stars.

So I ask again. It's the money, right?

"No mate, money isn't an issue or a concern," answered Shah. "If we win we get it but I personally don't think about it."

Such dismissal of vast sums is often trite, but Shah is simply stating an opinion. He has enjoyed a benefit this year, a relic from a bygone age when players were poorly paid but one that normally generates a tax free sum of around £200,000; he is a high class sportsman so has endorsements and a decent central contract salary, but nothing like a quick £600,000 for 40 overs' work.

"I didn't play cricket for money or to get rich," he explained. "I loved the game, still do but obviously your attitude changes when it becomes a job, but I don't spend time worrying about my bank balance or a car. I have always spent my time worrying about how to score more runs and even though I'm older and much more settled now, I still do."

Shah was born 30 years ago in Karachi, Pakistan. He is a Muslim, hard working and a contradiction. For many commentators sport bares a person's character, is a window to their soul. In some ways it does with Shah as he is fidgety, high tempo and bristling with indignation at perceived slights and injustice. There is an edge to him, a wariness of the world, a belief that it is out to get him. All this can be apparent at the crease. But when happy and on form, his batting style is graceful, fluid and wonderfully exciting. When he started first class cricket in 1996 for Middlesex, he was thrilling to watch, his repertoire of strokes astonishing as he joyfully slashed, whipped and stroked the ball to parts of the field rarely used by more structured and gnarled professionals. He still does, especially in Twenty20 and 50-over cricket where unorthodox innovation are assets, so one would expect him off-field to be bling, swagger and attention seeking. A typical modern day celebrity.

Except he isn't. There can be a perception of arrogance, but on more than a cursory examination it is obviously shyness laced with inhibition.

There is little ostentation or spectacle but plenty of courteousness, politeness and good manners. He acts, and there is little reason not to believe him, as if money is a by-product, not a motivating force. Indeed he becomes far more animated when we discuss cricket, his and in general. There was no passion for the money but mention batting or his development from precocious teenager to international batsman and he sparks into life.

He gesticulates, leans forward, engages and gains intensity.

"I want to play Test cricket, properly," he said, hands pushed forward, almost imploring.

He currently has two caps, one in India in 2006 when he was a late call-up because of injury. Thrust unsuspecting into his debut with little time for thought or acclimatisation he made a superb 88 in the first innings and 38 in the second. The runs were important and England won the Test, their first victory in India for 21 years but it was the manner of Shah's batting that suggested he was a Test batsman. He never looked rushed or under pressure. He pierced the gaps offered with surgical precision, a final flick or twist of his wrist guiding the ball. He was a replacement though. Alastair Cook and Marcus Trescothick returned and Shah was left to the grind of county cricket.

"It was disheartening under (Duncan] Fletcher," explained Shah. "I knew he didn't rate me or like me but there was nothing I could do. He had the players he fancied and wanted to play and I wasn't one of them so all I could do was go back and try and score as many runs as I could but even then I felt I wouldn't get a go. I had had two great seasons of 1,500 and 1,700 runs and there was nothing more I could do, that was the best in the country and still I wasn't getting picked and that was hard because I felt I was doing my bit to achieve my dream and still wasn't getting picked."

There was a feeling that England under Fletcher had become an exclusive club, closed to outsiders, and one of the first things Peter Moores did on assuming the coaching role was to shatter that belief by selecting Ryan Sidebottom.

"When Moores picked Ryan it sent a message to all of us in county cricket that we had a chance and I don't think there is a closed shop attitude now. I got another Test in 2007, again through injury and I failed but at least Moores had better communication and I know where I stand with him. I was shocked when I was picked for this India trip now because Ravi (Bopara] had been in the 12 for the last Test at the Oval so I assumed he was next man in line for the touring squad. He didn't get selected and I did so I think that proves there is no club."

Maybe. The contrasting viewpoint is Shah excelled in India two years ago and is a superb player of spin, England's Achilles heel on the sub-continent. It may be a horses-for-courses selection and there is the small matter of Cook's selection for the Twenty20. That is clearly a gift to a mainstay of the Test side who barely warrants a place in Essex's one-day side.

There is a delicious irony this winter for Shah as well in that it was in India in 2003 that he made the transition from impetuous talent to prolific runscorer. "All players have to progress and that needs self-examination," explained Shah. "My game had hardly changed from when I started and despite a quick go with England in 2001, I felt I was getting nowhere as the runs had dried up. I'd gone from 1,000 runs a season man to nearer 700 and a friend of my Dad's told me that Mohammad Azharuddin was opening an academy in Hyderabad. I went out there in 2003, the academy wasn't open but Azhar picked me up every afternoon for about 10 days and coached me. It was brilliant, we went through technique and style, he got me more side-on and changed my grip but a lot was just teaching me about developing innings, remaining patient, working on the bowlers and staying at the crease and spotting the time to seize the initiative, the moment. I learned a lot on that trip and came back and had a big season."

It was evident in his composure when batting. He became a machine, the talent was harnessed for productivity, not exploited for whimsy. He became a substantial player, a cut above first class but not yet international.

"I developed a lot, maybe that was a process I needed through suffering some disasters but now I know as I get older I have to seize opportunities," he explained.

"That's why I remain in the immediate moment now. When I'm batting it is just the ball, I don't worry about the rest. All I can do is score runs, plenty of runs and hope I get picked. In the past there have been times when I have felt I deserved a chance and you'd have to ask the coach at the time why I didn't get one but now I know it doesn't matter. I can only score runs and push and of course, seize any chance I get."

Shah is different. He does not follow an orchestrated message. He has his opinions and backs them. Consider this. He is a Pakistan born England cricketer who, of his own volition, sought coaching from a former Indian captain under disgrace for his association to match-fixing.

He has excelled in adversity. His best innings for England have either come when the top order has failed or he is expected to struggle. He is combative, determined and open. There are no secrets with Shah. He speaks his mind.

At the Academy that shadowed the 2006/7 Ashes tour Shah was introduced by Rob Key to an Australian batting coach, Neil 'Noddy' Holder.

Wary to begin with, Shah waited before entering the net and asked Holder if he let players have odd grips or styles.

'Not an issue mate' was the gist of Holder's reply. Satisfied, Shah worked for a fortnight with the coach whose CV includes Justin Langer, Mike Hussey and Key.

The coach's opinion?

"Heaps of talent, more than most top class players and different because of his style. Great work ethic and hunger for the game and a good man, that's so important. He, like Key, just needs a good chance."

If he gets it he could sit back and count Test runs rather than dollars. It's obvious what he'd prefer.