IN THE absence of Andrew Flintoff, England have been short of characters who can fight difficult corners with tirelessness, courage and drive. But after 10 months of utter dependability, it is time to acknowledge that they have found one in Ryan Sidebottom.

It may be no coincidence that he is a Yorkshireman by birth, like those other yeoman bowlers, Matthew Hoggard and Darren Gough, who also took Test hat-tricks for their country.

When Sidebottom, 30, returned to the England team last summer after a gap of six years and claimed eight West Indies wickets in classic swing-bowling conditions at Headingley, many people predicted that he would be found out when the environment was less helpful. He was, the argument went, no more than a horses-for-courses replacement for the injured Hoggard.

The implication, entirely without foundation, was that he would give up when things got more difficult. In fact, Sidebottom – as every bowler worth his salt should – has kept on going. In less than a year he has claimed nearly 70 wickets for his country in Test, one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

His great service to English cricket is that he has reminded everyone of the simple virtue of putting the ball in the right place and asking the batsman to play it. As Steve Harmison has demonstrated, speed alone is not enough.

To be a real handful, Sidebottom needs the red ball to swing, although when it doesn’t he still has the discipline and skill to bowl tightly. England have given him first use of the Kookaburra balls in Sri Lanka and New Zealand because they swing for only a short period, but the difference between the two tours is that here, in Hamilton, the old ball has reverse-swung as well.

Having endured a testing time in Sri Lanka, he has come back strongly after being prevented from appearing in the warm-ups because of a hamstring injury.

His strength of character is also evident in his batting. The array of strokes may be limited, but he always sells his wicket dearly. In Sri Lanka he even faced more deliveries over the three Tests than Kevin Pietersen. Yesterday, when England were looking to take time out of the game, Sidebottom followed instructions to the letter, batting 43 deliveries for three runs.

His hard work and modesty may stem from the fact that he has lived much of his cricketing life in the shadows. He was told by his coaches as a youngster that he wasn’t good enough to make it in the big time. Then, at Yorkshire, for years he was remembered as the son of Arnie, who played cricket for England as well as football for Manchester United.

When he could no longer get a game with Yorkshire and moved to Nottinghamshire, he started to take wickets in steady numbers, but found that the England coach at the time, Duncan Fletcher, did not rate bowlers who could not push the speed gun near 90mph.

Hamilton is the first Test match that Arnie has watched Ryan play because he is a nervous watcher, perhaps on the basis that he knows how difficult life can be at the top level. In fact, through some quirk or other, his son has found a way to keep Test cricket very simple.

England’s Test hat-tricks
Billy Bates v Aus 1883
Johnny Briggs v Aus 1892
George Lohmann v SA 1896
Jack Hearne v Aus 1899
Maurice Allom v NZ 1930
Tom Goddard v SA 1938
Peter Loader v WI 1957
Dominic Cork v WI 1995
Darren Gough v Aus 1999
Matthew Hoggard v WI 2004
Ryan Sidebottom v NZ 2008

Sidebottom's victims
Stephen Fleming: caught
Mathew Sinclair: caught
Jacob Oram: lbw

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