As a teenager, Aaron Shingler dreamed of the batsmen he would like to dismiss. Shingler’s list would have included a number of Australians, but as the 30-year old travels from his hotel on Saturday to a famous ground in London, the former Glamorgan pace bowler’s destination is not Lord’s but Twickenham where he will be appearing for the first time as Wales look to swat the Tasmanian Eddie Jones’s England to the boundary.
Shingler, man of the match in Wales’s defeat of Scotland last weekend, was on Glamorgan’s books for four years, the final one as a member of the senior squad. He played for England Under-19s against Bangladesh in 2005 alongside Moeen Ali, taking the wicket of Tamim Iqbal, but after the summer of 2007, which he spent playing for the county’s second team and Wales in the Minor Counties, he drifted back into rugby. He had not played the sport for six years, but quickly realised the oval ball rather than the Oval was where his future lay.
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His final game for Glamorgan was against Middlesex Sevens at the beginning of September in 2007, just a few miles from Twickenham in Uxbridge. He returned his best figures of the year, three for 59, and advising him from mid-off that day was a former England bowler who had worked with Shingler for four years, Steve Watkin.
“The seconds did not have a 12th man so I had to come on when there was an injury and I made sure I was near Aaron when he was bowling,” said Watkin, who was then Glamorgan’s academy head and is now the county’s bowling coach. “I first saw him when he was with the Under-17s and we were really excited about his prospects: he looked like the whole package.
“He had the perfect build for a bowler, tall and athletic. He bowled at a decent pace and generated bounce. He had a strong arm, was an excellent fielder and his aerobic capacity was phenomenal. He was humble and unassuming, very professional for his age, but sometimes things do not work out. Would he have come through had he been given more time? He has not done badly in rugby!”
When he was with the England Under-19s, Shingler bowled to the 2005 Australians in the indoor nets at Cardiff, inducing an edge from Ricky Ponting. “Where it went wrong for me was that I was trying too hard,” he said after being picked by Wales for his first cap in 2012. “My last year with Glamorgan was not a good one: I was practising too much and the rhythm did not come. I was a bit inconsistent and just wanted to get away from cricket for a few months. My dad encouraged me to play for the local rugby team [Hendy] and after seeming to perform well, I had a phone call from Llanelli and ended up playing for them.”
Never to return to cricket. He was quickly picked up by the Scarlets and a semi-professional contract turned into a full-time one. He made his Wales debut against Scotland in 2012 in Cardiff, playing out of position at openside flanker in place of the injured Sam Warburton, but competing for places with three players who would tour Australia with the 2013 Lions, as well as not fitting into a game plan that did not then suit his style, he drifted to the margins of international rugby.
When he was left out of the squad for last summer’s tour matches against Samoa and Tonga, he feared that his Test career was over. Then James King withdrew through injury, Shingler took his place and started both Tests. He kept his place for the beginning of the autumn series and with Wales by now playing with more width and adventure, he became part of the fabric rather than a replacement cover. This weekend he will step on to the Twickenham turf for the first time.
“It is the first time I have had a proper run of games with Wales,” said Shingler, who was born in Aldershot but grew up in west Wales. “A little bit of luck and some good form have gone my way and it is up to me to make the most of it. I have got a bit older, wiser and stronger. The victory over Scotland was massive for us and we showed great character. It was special to be named man of the match. It will be my first time at Twickenham and I am determined to make it a great day.”
Watching with interest will be Watkin, a Swansea City supporter. “Aaron is one of the players I have constantly asked myself whether I could have done a bit more for him,” he said. “He had everything you want in a bowler, but he has not done badly for himself. And he will be earning more than he would have as a cricketer …”