Where are they now? Chris Tavaré (original) (raw)

The former Kent and Somerset captain enjoyed a successful England career, playing in 31 Test matches after making his debut against West Indies in 1980. Renowned for a leisurely approach to scoring when it came to international cricket - he could bat for hours, days even, frustrating opponents and spectators alike - he was still a popular choice with the England selectors. And with good reason. Everybody remembers Ian Botham's famous innings of 118 in the 1981 Ashes, clinching victory at Old Trafford over Australia, but Tavaré outscored Beefy with his 147 runs in two innings and helped turn the match. At the peak of his career he also played alongside some of England's other greats of the Eighties, including Mike Gatting, David Gower, Graham Gooch and Allan Lamb.

Today Tavaré is a biology teacher at his alma mater, Sevenoaks School in Kent.

How did you end up as a biology teacher?

The two things in life I've always really enjoyed are sport and biology. All through my career I wondered what I might do when I retired and I kept coming back to the idea of teaching. It's not such a strange choice of career: I was watching cricket on the TV the other day and one of the players is a tree surgeon in the winter.

But why biology?

I did zoology at university, and I've always been interested in entomology in particular. When I started playing for Somerset I began working winters for the Ministry of Agriculture who had a research and advisory unit down there. We'd take in soil samples and study pests, we had a birch project looking at beetles - all very hands-on stuff in the laboratory. It was a welcome break from playing cricket. During the summer you played so much it could get stale, but this kept me enthusiastic. I never got too much stick for it either, although when I played for England one newspaper nicknamed me the insect man. But that never really caught on.

Do you miss cricket?

It's 15 years since I retired now, so it feels like a completely different life, a distant dream. I don't miss it at all. For one I'm too old to play any more, but also I've found a great substitute in teaching. The way I teach I have a lot of banter going with the kids - similar to the cricket dressing room - and I still get the adrenaline rush coaching my pupils in cricket and watching them perform on matchday. There aren't quite the peaks of a cricketer's life, but then you also don't get the troughs.

How does cricket compare to teaching?

It's a very stressful life being a professional cricketer, far more so than being a teacher. And it's totally absorbing: I was a very blinkered person as a player, it didn't leave much time for other interests. I remember going for a drink with a friend once and being asked to talk about anything other than cricket for five minutes. We stayed silent until five minutes had passed, and then got back to cricket. These days I have other passions: I watch motor racing with my son, and I'm a keen gardener - I'll be off to the Hampton Court flower show in a few weeks' time.

Do you tell your pupils much about your cricketing days ?

They're all too young to remember me as a cricketer, although their parents tell them the odd thing about me - usually my slow batting at international level, which the other teachers rib me about. The kids do know of my former team-mates though, the likes of Mike Gatting and David Gower, so they have a connection of sorts.