Black History Month 2023: Tymal Mills, from Suffolk to Sussex and beyond

This year cricket celebrates Black History Month by shining a light on heroes of the game, past and present. This week we spoke to Sussex Sharks hero, Tymal Mills about the recent fruitful period in his career, his heroes in the sporting world and what it means to put his name down in the history books at The 1st Central County Ground.

From witnessing his achievements both domestically and internationally within the game, it may surprise cricket fans to know that Tymal Mills stumbled into the game by chance.

As a 14-year-old teenager, Tymal decided to help a friend who needed an extra player for a local cricket game in Suffolk. Roll the clock forward 16 years or so and Tymal is lifting T20 gold with England on the biggest stage possible.

It’s a journey that many aspiring cricketers could dream of, a journey that has led to Mills becoming one of the most sought-after pace bowlers in the T20 game. But growing up, his heroes of the game, people who inspired him, were not quite who you’d expect.

Tymal explains: “I didn’t really have any cricket role models growing up. In terms of black heroes in other sports that I look up to are people like Lewis Hamilton and Tiger Woods.

“Lewis Hamilton has done some great work to put programmes in place in Formula 1, which is a sport that has very little in a way of diversity.

“Tiger is probably the most famous golfer of all time and when he started out it was a predominantly white sport, so he and Lewis are two people who have done a lot for their respective sports.”

In terms of his own experiences in the game, Tymal knows he has been fortunate, but has noticed a positive change among others in cricket when it comes to the language used in dressing rooms and in stadiums: “I’ve been very lucky to have very positive experiences within cricket throughout my career.

“Since things like the Black Lives Matter movement and the publication of the ICEC report, I have definitely noticed that people, players, coaches within the game are much more aware of what language they are using and now have a better understanding of the impact the words they are using could have on others.”

And although the ICEC report has highlighted issues within the game and within society, Mills doesn’t want it to hold back young people from taking up cricket, as he ultimately believes the sport can be a force for good: “My advice for young people, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, is to not be apprehensive when it comes to getting involved in cricket.

“Cricket is a brilliant sport, it is a sport played by people from all walks off life, all cultures, countries and backgrounds.

“Even if your particular part of the world isn’t diverse, cricket is extremely diverse as a whole and has given me the chance to meet people that I would never have had the chance to meet and see places that I would never have had the chance to see.

“There is always common ground, don’t feel like you’re going to be alienated, cricket is a universal language.”

Cricket is very much a sport that is evolving around the world now, with a number of new franchise tournaments popping up in all corners of the globe and Tymal feels the new competitions present new opportunities to inspire even more people: “It’s great to see new competitions popping up all the time.

"Whilst aiming to attract the biggest and brightest star names in world cricket, it is important that they look after local players and people too.

“Cricket has the power to reach so many different places and people, so it’s great to see that these new competitions are inspiring communities across the world.”

In terms of his own performances, Tymal’s last couple of years have been nothing short of spectacular.

Tymal played a key role in winning the first ever Hundred competition for the Southern Brave in 2021, in 2022 he lifted World Cup gold with England and in 2023 he became the all-time leading wicket-taker for the Sussex Sharks in T20 cricket.

“It’s been a really good couple of years, it’s always nice to win trophies, I actually went a long time in my career without winning anything and then the last 3 or 4 years I’ve managed to win a few different team trophies which has been great.”

Tymal continues: “It would be great to win the Blast with Sussex, we have obviously fallen short in recent years but it’s a massive goal of mine in my career.

“Becoming the all-time leading wicket taker for the Club in T20 cricket is a nice one, it’s a proper bit of history and I am really happy with it. I hope it stays the case for a long time!”

And in terms of his form and fitness, Mills believes he is playing the cricket of his life but isn’t getting carried away: “I’ve had a really good summer, I don’t like to speak about it much as I don’t want to jinx it! But yeah, it’s probably been the fittest I have been.

“I played the entirety of the Blast, I played a T10 competition in Zimbabwe and then played a full part in the Hundred. I got into a good rhythm with my body, I am only 31 and fingers crossed I can play for years to come.

“As long as I have felt good in my body then the results and wickets have followed, and I feel great right now.”

Although the Sharks didn’t have the campaign they would have liked in 2023, Tymal is hopeful that those experiences can help the team in 2024 and is excited by the prospect of new signing, John Simpson, joining the squad: “It was a funny year in the Blast this year, we had quite a few players playing big roles who hadn’t really played much in the Blast before.

“Everybody should have learned from that, it will be a fairly similar squad next year, obviously the signing of John Simpson will be a good signing for us.

“It’s great that Brad Currie and Harrison Ward have signed T20 contracts, so they can take the time to prepare for a big year and we will also keep an eye out for some exciting overseas signings.”

Tymal is also relishing his relationship with Sussex Head Coach Paul Farbrace and is enjoying the responsibility of being a senior leader within the team: “I’ve been having some more meetings with Paul Farbrace ahead of the season and he’s been fantastic, he’s giving me a lot of say and influence around the group which is something I enjoy.

“Next year will be my 10th year at Hove and I have been pretty clear about what I feel we need to do to improve and that starts in the winter.

“We get great crowds at Hove, so we really want to make sure we put on a great show to ensure they keep coming back and supporting us.”