Jeremy Blackmore catches up with Middlesex opening pair Max Holden and Nick Gubbins, who say they will stay grounded despite being likened to Cook and Strauss.
England have long searched for an opening pair to match the stability and run-scoring ability of Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook.
However, while comparisons with such greats are gratifying, Middlesex batsmen Nick Gubbins and Max Holden are staying focused on their own jobs at Lord’s.
Gubbins, like Strauss, is an alumnus of Radley College and a left-handed opener, while Holden earned himself the nickname ‘mini Chef’ due to his likeness to Cook.
Gubbins, particularly, has been backed as a potential England candidate since scoring 1,409 runs aged just 22 in Middlesex’s Championship winning season of 2016 with former England skipper Nasser Hussain championing his cause.
Despite a lean 2017, he seized a further chance to impress with back-to-back centuries in front of the selectors in last year’s North v South series in the Caribbean before an injury ruled him for the start of the summer. He returned strongly with a century and 99 in successive innings.
He started 2019 with 105 against Oxford MCCU last week. With England’s top order far from settled, is a call-up in his mind?
“Since 2016 when we won the Championship it’s been bandied around a bit and it does take a bit of getting used to,” he admits.
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