You might know cricket well and not have heard of Sonny Baker. The name’s more jazz drummer than fast bowler. He’s 22 and yet to play in the County Championship. He’s had just the one game in the T20 Blast, for Somerset last summer before he made the move to Hampshire. He also has England’s attention.
Baker made his first-class debut on the Lions tour of Australia earlier this year, impressing enough to nab an England development contract, the same type of deal that other young quicks Josh Hull and John Turner are on, both full internationals. The attraction is obvious, Baker possessing what England have been thirsting over: blink-and-miss pace.
Debuting for Hampshire in November at the Global Super League in Guyana, Baker enjoyed seeing the numbers on the speed gun. “I think I got to 148kph, which was good,” he says before the honesty kicks in. “I act like I don’t know the number. It was 148.7. I know the exact number.”
Baker has no desire to be just about speed. “I by no means want to be very one-dimensional, like I just bowl rockets, don’t really know where it’s going and don’t have any level of skill at all. I don’t want to be that guy.” But the trait is central to the story of a late bloomer.
“I was a bit of a late developer in terms of coordination,” says Baker, who made his way through Devon’s age-group teams. “Up until I was about 13, I didn’t really know how to move each limb individually. It looked like a millipede trying to move all its legs at the same time.” Before making it on to Somerset’s academy at 17, he was eyeing up life as a biology teacher. “I thought I’d really enjoy teaching, forming relationships and trying to help people be the best they can be. Why would you not want to do that?”
But Somerset tied him down, a professional contract signed at 18. Then came a couple of back stress fractures, something of an inevitability with young tearaways, and little game time. Most of Baker’s first-team work took place in the One-Day Cup. Somerset did make an offer to keep him at the club but he opted to go east.
“I think a few different counties were really interested,” says Baker. “The first thing I assessed was where am I going to learn the most? Because that’s the most important thing.” Then came where he’d have an opportunity to play, with money “basically irrelevant” in his decision. He gets giddy talking about what he’ll learn from Kyle Abbott and Keith Barker, keen to know how they find flaws in batters and set them up. “Seeing those things in person at the time and then watching them blow their shin off is going to be just … I can’t wait. I’m so excited for it. It’s going to be amazing.”
It all sounds like something a prospect should say, prioritising education over everything else. But with Baker it’s believable because he’s unashamedly bookish about fast bowling, with Dale Steyn his hero. “I must have listened to, I don’t know, 20 podcasts with him on. Probably not 20, maybe 15 podcasts with him on it. He seems like the most relaxed guy ever. But then his celebrations and how much that lifts the team up, with the intent and the passion that he bowls with – I just want to do that.
“That’s the guy I want to be. I want to be the guy where people are coming out of the bar to watch you bowl, like everyone does for Mark Wood.” Mitchell Johnson’s Ashes spells are cited as his favourites to watch, even if “it’s tough to admit” as an Englishman.
Baker also mentions his notebooks full of intel. “I write all sorts of stuff down,” he says. “Ground dimensions, ways to grip different balls, action stuff. What else have I written down? Analysis on batters – love my analysis on batters, love having a detailed plan.”
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When called up to the Hundred in 2021 as a replacement player at Trent Rockets, he sought out the former Pakistan quick Wahab Riaz and talked reverse swing. While recovering from injury at Somerset, he made use of his teammates’ network to get in touch with some of the fastest there have ever been. “I got on the phone with Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Jason Gillespie. If you don’t ask, you won’t get, right?”
Andrew Flintoff, the Lions head coach, is another figure Baker has got to know. Baker was two during the 2005 Ashes but is firmly aware of what Flintoff the player was like, and he’s captivated by the coach, too. “I’ve got the Ashes ‘05 videos on DVD. They were my cricket upbringing – Freddie Flintoff with his arms out, eyes closed. He inevitably has a lot of respect from people and hearing him say really positive things about you is quite rattling to be honest.
“He always laughs at me for my little notebook. He’s always like, ‘Oh yeah, notebook out again’. We joke about that, but he loves it. He said: ‘People could potentially do a bit more of that. That’s fantastic that you’re doing things your way. And I love that you’re not apologetic about that. That’s amazing. We want you to be yourself and that’s clearly you.’”
Baker provides a checklist for the next few months. “Let’s get the Champo debut. Let’s nail that. Then we’ll go to a block of Championship games. Let’s nail that. Then we can worry about T20 stuff.” Then comes the Hundred with Manchester Originals and more of the Championship, a reminder of the summer’s treadmill. He doesn’t mention England but their recent selection policy – two fingers shown at convention – means that could crop up somewhere, too. The notebooks will fill up fast.