Lewis Hatchett’s journey to first class Cricket in England was not an ordinary one. At birth his parents were told he would never be able to play sports as he was diagnosed with a very rare condition called Poland Syndrome, meaning he doesn’t have his right pectoral muscle and two ribs behind it. Despite many ups and downs along the way, Lewis realised his dream to be a professional cricketer when he signed for his local club Sussex in 2010.

In a six-year career at Sussex, Hatchett, a left arm fast-medium bowler, took 102 wickets in all formats before retiring in 2016 due to back injuries. His 102 wickets included 72 at first-class level including three five-wicket hauls with a best of 5/47 against Leicestershire in just his second match. Hatchett first played with Southern Districts in the SACA Premier Cricket competition back in 2008/09 and last season (2019/20) he was back at the Stingrays for his fifth season and his first since 2015/16. Hatchett had an excellent season finishing equal second on the first grade wicket takers list with 32 scalps at an average of 17.63 including career-best figures of 8/49 in the last game of the season against Woodville. Hatchett was also named in the First Grade Team of the Year for 2019/20.

Since retiring as a professional cricketer, Hatchett founded The Sport Yogi where he is a performance and wellbeing coach for those in sport and exercise. Find out more about Lewis at his websites thesportyogi.com and lewishatchett.com

How did you first get involved in Cricket?

I first started by playing cricket in the garden with my grandad and brother and then my passion really began when I would play on the beaches of Barbados with friends. That soon turned into me joining a club and a dream of being a pro emerged.

Who have been the biggest influences on your career?

My parents without a doubt for the early parts and endless support and sacrifice. Then in my professional career, I worked with Dave Alred that changed my outlook on a lot of things and Jon Lewis my teammate then coach was instrumental in my development as a player and now coach.

What advice would you give to youngsters that may be struggling with illness and/or injury and want to play sport at the highest level?

Any injury is a lesson, learn from it, know that if you do things right and commit to becoming better, literally anything is possible.

Who have been some of your toughest opponents in English County Cricket?

Kane Williamson, Alistair Cook and Marcus Trescothik, the entire Yorkshire double championship winning team. Some of the toughest times in the field there!

How different was the Grade Cricket scene and the Stingrays after not playing in Adelaide for a few years?

I was last here the year we won the premiership. Having returned, a lot of the same people are there but also new faces. I know the club hasn’t had the best last few seasons but the change that has happened in the last 12 months has been incredible.

What are the main differences between the game in Australia and England?

The swing! Having to get the ball to do something out here is much different! Showing guys how to shine the ball properly. The pitches are flatter here too and so sometime you have to find ways of getting guys out in different ways. I really enjoy it. As a bowler it requires a wide range of skills and discipline. From a grade cricket level, I much more prefer the 2 day format, I think it creates better cricketers in all aspects. For batsmen, it’s a lot tougher in the UK with the ball moving a lot more in general.

What is it like to be coached by a legend like Carl Hooper?

I work more alongside Carl and for me it’s quite surreal. I grew up watching cricket in the West Indies and I remember being in the stand at Kensington Oval watching him play, now getting to know him is awesome. His empathy towards players mixed with his view on the game is a great blend. 

How do you see the future of Southern Districts and Cricket in the South?

I think it’s really bright. I am going to be running the junior program this year and I’m completely re-engineering the entire thing. It’s going to be a much more professional, hardworking, positive, community driven program that will create not only good cricketers, but good people too.