Jeremy Snape was born on the 27th April 1973 in Stoke-on-Trent and joined Leicestershire in 2003 and this season was appointed County Captain. Here the 20/20 winning skipper talks exclusively to the Leicestershire Foxes Supporters Site.
After winning the Twenty20 Cup for the second time this year, Snapper revealed that in the final versus Nottinghamshire, the nerves crept in. 'I hoped we would win the 20/20 as we were outstanding as a team in our group and quarter finals. When Notts set off well with Fleming and Hussey, I was a little bit worried but once they had gone, I knew we could pull it off. It was a special night and the lads certainly enjoyed the celebrations! I love 20/20 cricket as it’s a fast and quick thinking game calling for instinct. The challenges of the championship are very different but equally tough.'
Jeremy's infamous 'Moon Ball' has been well documented but what is it all about? 'Lots of people are talking about the moon ball but its just a way of varying the pace of deliveries, I try to make everything look quick apart from the very split second that my arm comes over, so I can let the ball out slowly….no secrets just a bit of gamble to stop it being smashed!'
At the start of this season a new era evolved at Grace Road with Tim Boon being appointed as head coach and Jeremy being named captain. So what has changed and what are their philosophies? 'Tim Boon and I have very similar views on what it will take to make Leicestershire a leading club again. We need a long term approach where we look to develop the youngsters and give them opportunities to develop in a fair and consistent hard working culture. The senior players have a crucial role in this and I sit between the players and try to bring everyone closer together. I think we have gone a long way to achieving this but it will be a long process. If we keep working hard and challenging the players to reach their best, then we can look forward to many more trophies at
Snape has been playing first class cricket for nearly 15 years and has represented many sides including England. 'I have played abroad in New Zealand and
Away from cricket, Jeremy has taken a degree in Sports Psychology and runs his own business called Sporting Edge Solutions. 'My business is a sport psychology consultancy which aims to help sports performers have minds which are as strong and flexible as their bodies! We also do some work with corporate teams etc using sports analogies and sports psychology coaching.'
With the emergence of Stuart Broad from Leicestershire Seconds to the full England team in little more than an 18 month period, Snape points to three County second team players that he feels have a big future at Grace Road, 'Youngsters to watch – (Matt) Boyce, (Daniel) Rowe and (Harry) Gurney.'
Having been at Leicestershire for 4 seasons, 'Snapper' has no plans to move on. 'Ultimate goal is to be the best I can be and to hand over Leicestershire CCC to the youngsters in fine shape when I finish my career. I want to finish my career here and help develop the club into a leading force again. With my skills on and off the pitch, I am sure that I can do this and look forward to more successes ahead.'
Here, here!
