Mason Crane's magic carpet ride - from a driveway in Tarring all the way to the Ashes tour

He might not have reached his current heights without the input of Lancing College cricket master Raj Maru.

But there is another what-if for the Shoreham-born, Tarring-raised leg-spinner today named in the Ashes party for this winter's tour.

How would his self-taught spinning skills have developed had his dad ordered just enough carpet for their home in Watersfield Road a few years ago?

As it turned out, the Crane family had a bit left over.

And so appeared the improvised ‘wicket’ which helped an England international and one of the brightest prospects in the game.

“My first memories of cricket at home are that we played down the side of the house,” Crane told The Argus.

“I bowled at dad. We had a new carpet when I was right young and there was a roll of it left.

“We used to stick the carpet down as a wicket so the ball would grip and spin a bit more.

“I used to bowl at home for hours and hours in the cold and rain.

“As an eight-year-old that is what you live for and it went from there.

“When I was eight or nine I got started at Worthing Cricket Club.

“Nobody in the family played but I watched the Ashes in 2005, that was my first memory and I started after that.

“I made some good mates at Worthing and really enjoyed it.

“They are guys I am still best mates with now.

“My dad didn’t play but he enjoyed watching.

“He used to take me to Hove to see Sussex and mum would take me down to Worthing when I was quite young.

“They acted as taxi drivers from there.”

Of course, as a kid Crane wanted to bowl fast, didn’t he? All kids want to bowl fast.

“Not me,” he said. “I never really wanted to bowl quick.

“I started bowling leg-spin from the very start and it sort of came naturally.

“You get coached as you move up and they offer bits of advice but a lot of it from a very young player is from watching on TV.”

All well and good. The Tarring boy was having a ball, be it at home, at his local club or making his way through the age groups at Sussex.

Until the bombshell came at under-14 level when they let him go.

He said: “Sussex had a thing where, in the junior age groups, you trialed every year regardless of what you had done. I don’t know if it is still the same. One year they decided I wasn’t good enough.

“I sat down with Raj Maru, who had had a massive influence on me, and we asked them why. They basically said I wasn’t good enough at batting, bowling or fielding.

Mason Crane, front row second left, with Worthing juniors

“Fair enough, they obviously didn’t think I was good enough at that time.

“I went to Hampshire but, because I didn’t live in Hampshire or wasn’t born in Hampshire, I couldn’t play, I just trained.

“I actually came back to Sussex for a couple of weeks at one stage but I decided I was really enjoying Hampshire so I continued there.”

Sussex clearly let a gem slip away. No getting away from it. But some context is also important..

Firstly, it is not always easy to judge a player at the age of 14.

Secondly, their record at bringing through young talent, or developing players who have not made it elsewhere, is generally good.

And thirdly, even Crane recognises he was not the cricketer then that he later became.

He said: “My memories are that I was in a bit of disbelief. I was a bit shocked to start with and it was hard to swallow.

“From a coach’s point of view, they must have seen something.

“It was their judgement at the time and you have to respect that.

“But, at that age, it feels like the be all and end all.

“I had been part of that squad since I was eight or nine.

“But perhaps it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

“For a good few years, it really motivated me to work hard at my game.

“A year or two later I was at the Bunberry Festival, which I would never have dreamed of.

“I was in the Sussex under-tens with George Garton. He stands out because we have known each other since we were ten years old.

“It was so nice when we put on the England Lions shirt together recently.”

Bowling for Worrthing 1st XI versus Brighton and Hove as a 15-year-old

And then there is home back at Worthing CC – a constant during highs and lows.

We have a couple of team shots in our archives showing Crane as a ten or 11-year-old lining up with his club mates.

“Worthing was a massive part of my development,” he said.

“I played men’s cricket from 12 or 13 years old, which really helped.

“I moved up the teams. I haven’t played much for Worthing in recent years but i try to sneak a game in every now and then because i enjoy it so much.

“I think I played in the first team when I was 15. We were in the Sussex Premier League that year.

“It was great. There was one game when Lewis Hatchett took a nine-for against us and that was a bit of an eye-opener.

“He was a proper county player at that stage. It was great experience. It was against men and it really helped me.

“There were a lot of senior guys around at Worthing and it is is difficult to pick anyone out.

“Playing for a lot of different teams within the club meant I had a lot of different team-mates and a lot of different coaches.

“But they were great for me at Worthing.

“I played with a lot of the boys since I was very young. We worked our way up and won a lot of festivals and it’s great to see a lot of those guys in the Worthing first team now.”