The 92mph England fast bowler ready to move on from difficult debut

Sonny Baker has just started to tell a story about a bike he bought from someone on Facebook Marketplace and a tomahawk steak when the video call goes dead.

And that is a great shame, because watching the energy and enthusiasm Baker puts into his stories is a feature of a conversation with the Hampshire pace bowler. Baker talks like he bowls – fast, and with a smile on his face.

A broken link is also symbolically apt for what Baker has learned in a short England career to date.

In his only one-day international, Baker shipped 0-76 against South Africa – the most expensive figures by an England man on debut.

The 23-year-old is sanguine about that day at Headingley, rightly pointing out he was targeted in a game England were never going to win after they were bowled out for 131. What rankles more is his only international T20 appearance three weeks later, when Ireland plundered 52 from his four overs.

Just as the failed call stopped him in his prime, Baker knows he did not give himself the best chance of succeeding in Dublin.

“My little brother Blaise said to me after the game that I hadn’t been myself,” Baker tells BBC Sport.

“I’m an absolute carry-on merchant. If someone plays and misses, I’m like, ‘woooaaahhh’. I can’t help but to give it a massive carry-on.

“But in Dublin, I was still trying to clutch back my ODI debut. I’d beat the bat, be thankful not to have been hit for a boundary, then walk back to my mark to go again.

“If I get the opportunity again it’s about being myself. If I get someone to play and miss, I have to carry on like I normally do. There’s no point worrying about what everyone will think. Who cares? That’s how I am. I have to be authentic.”

And Baker will get more chances to play for England, quite possibly with a Test debut this summer.

For all the talk of who might come into the batting line-up, it is the pace-bowling department that has most vacancies.

In less than three years, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Woakes and – very probably – Mark Wood have exited the Test arena. England must find replacements for their combined 1,619 wickets.

Brydon Carse is injured, Jofra Archer is at the Indian Premier League and Matthew Potts struggled in the final Ashes Test in Sydney.

Perhaps only Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson are locks for the squad for the first Test against New Zealand on 4 June. Matthew Fisher and Tom Lawes are candidates, but are in a Surrey side struggling to take wickets.

Sam Cook could get the chance to add to his one Test cap, or Ollie Robinson might be brought in from the cold.

Then there is Baker, who has stood out with his extra pace on some docile early season pitches. His hostility in a duel with James Rew in Somerset’s narrow win over Hampshire was a glimpse into England’s future.

“It feels like I’ve put on a bit of pace since last year,” says Baker, who has been clocked at 92mph this season.

“When I run in faster and maintain the momentum through to the release, the ball speed is higher.

“Last year, when I was trying to operate at that cruise control, it didn’t really feel like it had enough zip or energy on the ball. My control wasn’t quite as good because I was always thinking, ‘I need to give it some to create a chance’. This year, in a small sample size, it’s been much better.”

Baker lights up at the opportunity to get nerdy over fast bowling, eulogising about South Africa great Dale Steyn as “the king of going up and down the gears”.

“He’d take the new ball, click into third gear, swing and nip it, put it on a sixpence,” says Baker. “Then, when some guy needed a bouncer, fifth gear and bang!”

Baker’s fire would add some much-needed oomph to an England team that had too many introverts for the heat of an Ashes battle in Australia. His character could possibly build bridges with supporters after a winter of bad PR.

“Bowling fast is just fun,” he says. “It’s got to be. You have to find a way to keep it fun.

“What do people come out of the bar to watch? Guys hitting massive sixes, guys bowling rapid and spinners ragging it.

“Who wasn’t watching Jofra Archer in the 2019 Ashes? Everyone was. We pretended to be Jofra in the back garden. Why wouldn’t you want to be that guy? Steaming in. It’s what is exciting about the game.”

Baker says his outlook on life comes from his family. His dad Ian was a club cricketer in Torquay and semi-professional goalkeeper. His brother Blaise, 19, is also a fast bowler and has played for Somerset’s second XI.

In his desire to leave “no stone unturned”, last year Baker revealed he drinks bone broth to help stave off the stress fractures that dogged his teenage years. His problem was producing enough bone broth to sustain a fast bowler.

“It’s a right pain to make,” he says. “Brown the bones, then brew them for at least 24 hours, then take all the bones out, put it in the bin, but it steams up the bin and creates horrible bin juice. Then ladle it out into bottles, then take it with you everywhere.

“I’d make litres of it, trying to make it last a week. It was a stretch. Sometimes I’d find I’d gone three days without it because I haven’t made it. It’s a stinker – I shouldn’t be doing that.”

Help came from an unknown member of the public.

“There’s a bone broth company, who were at a farm show,” says Baker. “A lady came to them and said: ‘Have you heard about the cricketer who drinks bone broth?’ They found me online and now they sponsor me. I get it delivered to wherever I am. What a lifesaver. Thank you to whichever lady passed on my name.”

The cut in the call was caused by Baker’s phone running out of battery. He scurried around the Utilita Bowl to find a charger and finished the call with the wire plugged into his car.

He has only played 10 first-class matches, of which three were at the start of this season – three back to back for the first time in his career. Hampshire have three more back to back – starting at home to Glamorgan on Friday – before England’s first Test of the summer.

As a centrally contracted player, Baker’s workload will be decided by England, whether he gets a Test call this summer or not.

“You wouldn’t be on a central contract if they didn’t think it was worth investing in you long-term,” he says. “Whether I’m in their immediate plans or not, I don’t know, and it’s not for me to say.

“I’ve added pace and much more control. For red-ball cricket, I can say I am a significantly better bowler than I was last year.”