The world is full of child prodigies, from Maths and Chess to Violin or Voice. However, cricket has had its fair share through the years. Mushtaq Mohammad was allegedly 13 when he made his first-class debut and 15 when he first played a Test match for Pakistan, but his birth certificate was suspect and we may well need to add a couple of years to those ages. Nevertheless he was an exceptional young cricketer and went on to score more than 31000 runs and take almost 1000 first-class wickets in a lengthy career, much of it in England. Indeed, I recall seeing him bowl leg-breaks in a Lord's club final back in the early '80s. Sachin Tendulkar was definitely 15 when he first represented Bombay (as was), and inevitably scored an unbeaten century!
Advance to 27th April 2011, the location was Durham, and Yorkshire selected Barney Gibson as their wicket-keeper to play against Durham MCCU. They'd had to ask permission of his school in Pudsey, the reason being Barney was only 15 years and 27 days old. In taking the field, he became the youngest player in English first-class history. That's definitely worth sacrificing Maths, Science and RE lessons for!
His county must have known what they were doing. It wasn't as if there was an injury crisis; both first-teamers Jonny Bairstow and Gerard Brophy were merely being rested for the fixture against the students, and there were other local teenagers also being given their first opportunity at this level in the game which, at the time of writing, looks like going Yorkshire's way. Master Gibson displaced Paul Jarvis as his county's youngest representative. Jarvis became a popular fast bowler, winning a few England caps along the way. It's too soon to talk of Barney as a child prodigy. It's not as if he is any great shakes as a batsman, coming in at eleven, although he did score a run off his only ball faced so far. Maybe his career path will take him beyond the Yorkshire academy and through the England Under-19s and onto higher things. However, there are currently several youthful 'keepers waiting to step up a grade should Matt Prior falter.
The England incumbent himself was 19 when he made his Sussex debut ten years ago. Chris Read was 17, and a year younger when he first represented Devon in a Nat West Trophy fixture. Steven Davies was a first-class cricket debutant at 18, while Craig Kieswetter burst on the scene for Somerset at 19. His county rival Jos Buttler was a day past his 19th birthday when he did the same, gong on to enjoy a fabulous first county season.
Barney Gibson will find it hard even to break into the Yorkshire team, as Bairstow himself is still only 21, and is a very useful batsman. These days you can't guarantee a place in a side without substantial batting ability, no matter how good you are behind the stumps. Perhaps Barney will change course in the coming formative years: university, career, maybe even football as he is a talented goalkeeper, too. However, he will always be able to claim that record as the youngest English cricketer and I wish him well whatever he chooses to do.
