Sitting in the Trent Bridge pavilion, quietly recalling his remarkable Test debut at Lord’s a few days earlier, Gus Atkinson tempts you to think that he can’t possibly be a fast bowler, the most untempered breed in world cricket. It’s a mistake others have made before, and some will make again.
And yet it’s hard to reconcile his angelic blue eyes, shy smile and tendency to self-mockery with the 90mph assassin who took 12 for 106 in the innings win against West Indies. He’s polite, thoughtful, sparing with his words, but never curt. If a goose waddled past, Atkinson probably wouldn’t say ‘boo’.
He certainly wasn’t taking a piss out of anyone at Lord’s, where he nearly managed to surpass Jimmy Anderson’s last Test, even apologising for taking the final wicket, which earned him a curt ‘f*** off’ in response.
He is not getting carried away. ‘It’s very likely that it will never happen again,’ he says of his 12-wicket haul. ‘To start like that is pretty incredible, but a few people have said to me that it’s all downhill from here.
“I haven’t had many days where I’ve taken a lot of wickets. I’ve only taken one first-class five-for. After the first spell, when I took two, I thought, I can pile a few more up here. And it just seemed to happen quite quickly.
Gus Atkinson (pictured above) made his dream debut at Lord’s last week
Atkinson (above) suffered a devastating loss years ago but was encouraged by his family
Atkinson’s mother Caroline (left) died in a car crash in 2020, but the fast bowler has since managed to represent his country
“It’s all a bit of a blur. I don’t think it’s really sunk in, and now we’re here for the next game. If I can perform half as well, that would be great.”
Atkinson has a colourful heritage. On his mother’s side, the 10th Earl of Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, commanded the Chilean navy in their 19th-century war of independence from the Spanish.
Under his father, MP Sir Henry Norris owned Arsenal, orchestrated their controversial move from south to north London in 1913 and built thousands of houses in Fulham, across the Thames from Atkinson’s Wandsworth home. In delivering the best analysis of an England newcomer in 134 years – better than Anderson in any of his 188 Tests – he has set a marker for a new generation, both in his own family tree and among England fast bowlers.
Yet there were times when his rise, as he suffered injury and personal tragedy, felt anything but preordained, with some even questioning his suitability for the task of fast bowling.
His father, Ed, remembers watching him play an age-group match for Surrey against Lancashire at Urmston and noting the pace he had picked up. But he adds: ‘Because his run-up was so slow and his delivery so easy, I thought he looked like he wasn’t trying.’
Ed asked the coach, Richard Bedbrook, how he felt about Gus. Bedbrook reassured him, “This guy has something we really like. He throws a heavy ball, hits the pitch and the bat hard.”
Atkinson pictured bowling to West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph during the third day of the first Test match between England and West Indies at Lord’s
Atkinson pictured with Ben Stokes after taking the wicket of West Indies’ Shamar Joseph on the first day of the first Test, one of his twelve on debut
And then there was England’s recent Test tour of India, where Atkinson’s fluid action in the nets (comparisons with Jofra Archer are frequent) gave the illusion that he was bowling indoors.
‘It’s frustrated me at times,’ Atkinson told Mail Sport. ‘There have been times in my career where coaches… haven’t accused me of not trying, they’ve just wanted me to put in a bit more. I’ve thought, ‘I’m trying.’ But sometimes I’ve looked back at videos of myself bowling and thought, ‘Gee, I can see where they’re coming from. I’m trying. It’s just how I make it look.’
And it has taken a lot of effort to make it look effortless. It was only when Vikram Solanki, then on Surrey’s coaching staff, urged him to take the handbrake off ahead of the start of the 2021 T20 Blast that Atkinson began to crack.
“It was something that was always coming,” he says, “but I didn’t realise I had it until he said, ‘Run in and bowl as fast as you can and let’s see what happens.’ I went into a T20 match against Somerset and thought, I’ll run in and bowl fast. It felt good and since then I’ve always tried to push myself.”
Atkinson was measured bowling 95mph against Jos Buttler during last year’s Hundred, and in September he took four for 20 against New Zealand at Old Trafford, the best figures by an England T20 debutant. At Lord’s he produced the kind of pace that Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes regard as non-negotiable if England are to regain the urn in 2025-26.
A less stolid character might have given up long ago. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 he suffered stress fractures in his back, slowing his progress as Surrey peers Sam Curran and Will Jacks made headway. Four months after he dismissed Alastair Cook on his first-class debut in 2020, his mother, Caroline, died in a car crash. Atkinson’s penchant for taking things slowly was tested in the worst possible circumstances.
On Atkinson’s mother’s side, the 10th Earl of Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, commanded the Chilean Navy during their war of independence from the Spanish in the 19th century.
‘I thought, my career can go either way. I can go off the boil, or I can focus on my cricket and put a lot into it.
“It changed my perspective on the game — not in terms of caring less about the game, but seeing it as not the most important thing. I can throw a bad over, but it’s not the end of the world.
“You might have bad days, but so what? I think from a cricketing point of view I’ve dealt with it quite well. It’s been a really tough time. You don’t really know how to deal with that. It’s just keep going and do your best.”
His father believes Gus’ natural composure has helped. “Hopefully he’s got the character to get through what will undoubtedly be tougher times,” he says. “He’s been through some tough times, with three stress fractures and his mother passing away. I’m sure he can handle what happens on the pitch as well.”
Ed says his son is “quite a leader in his peer group,” despite his quiet exterior. “He’s got to get used to it, but he’s a funny guy. He just doesn’t see the point of talking too much.
‘He has a lot of confidence in his own abilities and character. He is happy with himself.’
And once you start poking and prodding, those qualities come to the fore. ‘I’d love to play in an Ashes series,’ says Gus. ‘Especially in Australia. I’d love to go there and win.’
How will he deal with the attention? ‘Fine. I’ve always imagined what it would be like to be a Test cricketer, and I always thought I could get there. So those are things I’ve thought about.’
How about being more vocal with the batsmen? ‘I’m not going to be someone I’m not. As I play more international cricket, I’ll discover who and what I am as a bowler. I’m just going to be the best I can be — not worrying about how I behave, but more about how I perform.’
Under his father’s ownership, MP Sir Henry Norris owned Arsenal, orchestrated their controversial move from south to north London in 1913 and built thousands of homes in Fulham
Injury has limited Atkinson, 26, to just 20 first-class appearances — and thanks to Lord’s, he has three five-fors. And he believes his time on the sidelines has kept his body fresh for a bowler of his age.
“I can get better at everything,” he says. “I can still bowl faster, move the ball more through the air, use the crease more — little things that make a big difference.”
Perhaps making a big difference is in the blood. Henry Norris transformed Woolwich Arsenal into the modern Arsenal, smuggling them forward in the queue to join the First Division after the First World War when other clubs had finished higher in the most recent Second Division season. He was also chairman of Fulham and helped found Brentford.
Admiral Cochrane, meanwhile, defeated Napoleon, who admiringly called him “the sea wolf.” He inspired the character of Captain Jack Aubrey, played by Russell Crowe in Master and Commander, and is honored annually by the Chilean Navy at his grave in Westminster Abbey. “I don’t know much about the history, but I think it’s pretty cool,” Atkinson says with a smile. He sounds untroubled and unconcerned. Gus Atkinson is now writing his own history.