Story by: Josh Nevett
Seven years after his first spell at Camberwell Sportsground, exciting English all-rounder Andy Gorvin is back and enjoying life as a Magpie more than ever. He spoke with JOSH NEVETT after a successful start to his second stint at CMCC.
Andy Gorvin never thought he would return to McQueen Park. Not really.
Life changes quickly in your 20s, and any hope Gorvin had of returning to his Premier Cricket home was surely dashed by COVID.
Yet, as the 2022/23 Aussie season got underway, the 25-year-old touched down at Tullamarine Airport ready to pull on Camberwell colours again.
As it turns out, one season wasn’t enough for the talented all-rounder, who made his Magpies debut in 2015.
“I felt there was some unfinished business in Premier Cricket from my last trip as I didn’t play any first team cricket, so I’ve always wanted to come back for that reason,” Gorvin says.
“There was interest from both sides for me to return and I’m grateful that it’s given me a great chance to improve my cricket in familiar surroundings.”
Fresh out of school, Gorvin arrived for his first crack at cricket down under as a bright-eyed school leaver, eager to perform on foreign soil. The club impressed him from the outset.
“My impression was that it was a great club,” he reflects.
“At the time there were several players in their prime in the higher grades which meant it was a relatively successful season with all teams making finals. ‘Gorv’ plied his trade in the 2s, accumulating 406 runs at 34 including two unbeaten half-centuries.
Demonstrating his range of skills, the crafty right-arm seamer also took 16 wickets at 25, rounding out a solid campaign that propelled the Second XI to second place on the ladder.
The experience left Gorvin wanting more, from a personal and team perspective, but he would be forced to wait seven years for another shot.
In the meantime, Andy has gone from strength to strength back home. Moving up the ranks, he made his List A debut for Glamorgan against Northants last year, and he currently holds a contract for the county side that Australian star Marnus Labuschagne calls home.
Gorvin’s return to Camberwell is part of his plan to hit the ground running for the 2023 county season, and he has loved the familiarity of his Aussie surroundings despite plenty of changes around the club:
“It’s great to be back again after seven years, a few things have changed, and only a handful of the lads are still around from 2015/16, but essentially the club is still the same.
“The playing group is probably the biggest change, which is to be expected after seven years, and there have been some great upgrades to the facilities too.”
Lining up as a much-improved cricketer this time around, Andy has been a standout over the first few weekends of a season marred by rain to date.
While he did his best work with the bat last time around, it’s been Gorvin’s bowling that has shone in 2022. He has seven wickets at an average of 17 to go with 46 runs.
Under the leadership of new coach Dave Alleyne and captain Ben Rowles, the club has shown significant improvement in the opening rounds, with the 3s and 4s firmly entrenched at the pointy end of the table.
Gorvin is excited about what may lie ahead in the coming months.
“I think Dave and Rowlesy have a great vision for the playing group, which is fairly young, with a long-term vision. I get on well with them both, and hopefully, we can keep improving week-by-week,” he explains.
“There are plenty of really good young cricketers – Dhruv Redhu, Tom Nelson, Coby Fitzsimmons and Will Townsend are all very talented and have shown glimpses so far. I think Liam Fitzpatrick is my ‘one to watch’ this summer.
“There have been glimpses of what each grade can do so far this season, but there’s a lot of time left to keep developing and building consistency.” While it’s certainly an exciting time to be a Magpie, the measured Gorvin is circumspect around what the ceiling may be for the club in 2022/23: “Let’s see where we are at Christmas and then we can set some realistic but ambitious goals.
“I’m not ruling out being able to achieve anything this early in the season!”
With an abundance of determination, maturity and quality, there is no doubt that Andy Gorvin will be at the forefront of any Camberwell success this summer.
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