INTERVIEW
Follow UsJack Brassell is all of 19.
Yet, he has had a rather fascinating journey already. 2024 is perhaps the most memorable year for him as he not only represented Namibia at the Under-19 World Cup but also debuted for the senior side in Nepal.
In the blink of an eye, he is already part of the T20 World Cup 2024 squad in the US and the Caribbean. How does the teenager sum up this little journey?
“The Under-19 World Cup alone was pretty nerve-wracking because it was quite a big step for me. I enjoyed and learnt quite a bit there as well. Getting called up for the men's team was a little bit of a shock but I'm really happy about it. It developed me as a cricketer quite a bit. It's a bit nerve-wracking but also exciting,” Brassell said in a chat with Cricket.com.
Brassell's turnaround time from playing the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa to playing for the senior side in Nepal was very short.
On January 22 in Kimberly, Namibia were bundled out for just 91 in their encounter against Australia, and it was safe to say that they were staring down the barrel. But Namibia did not lie down. They made a match of it, picking up six wickets and making the Australian batters sweat.
Brassell started things off with the wicket of Sam Konstas, who was cleaned up by a beautiful in-swinger. That gave the others a lift to put doubts in the minds of the young Aussie batters.
“When we batted first, the hopes went down low when we were cleaned up for not many. Even at the innings break, we saw we didn't have much on the board. In the change room, there was a bit of positivity that we wanted to fight a bit and didn't want to go embarrass ourselves,” Brassell recalls that game sharply.
“We got off to a decent start. When I got the first wicket, we got some excitement going. We got another quick three. I think that's where it really kicked in. The adrenaline started pumping, and we thought we were still in this. But unfortunately, we fell short. It was a good game.”
They say one game is enough. In Brassell’s case, it was 100 per cent true. His figures of 3/28 against eventual champions Australia was enough to earn him a call-up to the senior side. Overall, he finished the tournament with six wickets at 15.66, with an economy rate of 3.04.
“It happened after our first game against Australia, where I had quite a good game and the coach called me and said they [the senior side] want to take me to Nepal. It was a shock, I was a bit nervous, I was a bit shaky about going. But I am very happy I ended up going, learnt quite a bit,” Brassell said about the unexpected call-up.
Speaking of the Nepal tour, where the Cape Town-born pacer played two T20Is and two ODIs, he said, “That was one of the best cricketing decisions I've ever made - going on this tour. There's a lot of experience there and the things they teach you, even if it's not just cricket-related but about being on tour and representing the country and stuff. That certainly taught me a lot.”
Brassell has had quite the journey — not just in cricket but in life, in general. While he currently resides and plays cricket in England, he travelled across continents and several countries before joining Durham’s academy. He played with his younger brother Ben at the U-19 World Cup, while Ben’s twin Dan is progressing steadily.
“I was born in Cape Town. I stayed there for just a year. Then I ended up moving to Mozambique, my entire family moved there. I didn't really get into cricket then at all. I moved to Namibia when I was seven years old. That's when I started playing cricket. It was in Otjiwarongo, which is one of the towns. I started playing there,” Brassell, who qualifies to play for Namibia through his mother, said.
“For two years it was just tennis ball cricket and then when I moved to Swakopmund, which is at the coast, that's when I started taking cricket more seriously. I started playing with hard ball. I started training in age-group cricket. My first age-group international game for Namibia was for Under-11 when we went on a tour to South Africa. Been in Namibia till I moved to England, and I still play for Namibia even though I'm there.”
Other than cricket, Brassell also played football when he was in Namibia but decided to pursue it after he realised that it was cricket he wanted to make a career out of.
“I used to play football for a club in Swakopmund - aged 10-17. I was playing football and cricket at the same time. Late on, cricket started going pretty well for me. So, I stopped playing football. I still love football, but I stopped playing for teams and stuff, just focussing on my cricket a little more.,” Brassell, who looks up to Quinton de Kock and Jofra Archer, said.
“When we had that Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers in Tanzania, that's when I really realised I do want to play further along in my career and stuff.”
In England, Brassel continues to hone his skills in club cricket with an eye on making his debut for the Durham second XI soon, having already represented Durham U-18s in a few day matches.
As far as club cricket is concerned, he played 50-over matches for Washington Cricket Club and more recently switched to Sunderland.
However, his family is not too pleased with his switch to Sunderland. Why so?
His entire family are from Ashington, Newcastle, growing up cheering and chanting for Newcastle United. If you follow English football, you’d know that Sunderland and Newcastle are one of the fiercest rivals. Their matches are referred to as the Tyne-Wear derby.
“My first season in England I was in Washington Cricket Club. This season I have moved to Sunderland Cricket Club. I managed to play just one or two games because I had to come back over. The club cricket there is a really good standard and really enjoyable,” Brassell explained.
“My family wasn't really happy when they heard I had moved to Sunderland, but it was a move for my cricket, so I had to do it.”
Namibia have plenty of fast bowlers in the squad, most of whom have played in the previous two T20 World Cups. Yet, it would be foolish to say that Brassell will not play in the first XI. Brassell would not have even dreamt of playing for the Namibian side four months earlier, yet there he was in Kathmandu, making the Nepal batters dance to his tunes.
In fact, Brassell was not the only one from his U-19 World Cup batch on the Nepal tour. Left-arm pacer Junior Kariata was also in Nepal, practising with the squad. Moreover, Namibia have also handed a T20 World Cup call-up to left-arm spinner Peter-Daniel Blignaut.
Safe to say that batch is going to throw up many more talents in the near future as well.
For now, Brassell, who would have watched his side pip teams like Sri Lanka and Ireland in the last two World Cups on his sofa, now has a chance of being part of history as Namibia look to overturn heavyweights like Australia and England in the upcoming weeks.
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