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Jim Troughton, Surrey’s new Assistant Coach, explains why the Kia Oval felt a natural fit.

As Jim Troughton made his way to Surrey’s final warm-up fixture against Middlesex in his new position as Assistant Coach, his brother Sam was embarking on a role of a very different kind.

“He’s filming today with Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix for a role in the new Napoleon movie,” says Troughton. “I was just chatting to him on my way to Merchant Taylors’. He said, ‘I’ll make sure I don’t nibble at too many outside off stump, I’ll leave a few, get myself in, get my feet moving’. There’s always a lot of cricket chat in our WhatsApp group. I’m sure he’ll be hopping down to The Oval now I’m down this way.”

Sam – perhaps best known for appearing in the 2019 mini-series Chernobyl – is a celebrated Shakespearean actor, following in the footsteps of his father David and grandfather Patrick, who played the role of Doctor Who in the 1960s. His younger brother, William, is also a successful actor.

Jim says the thespian life never appealed to him – “I preferred the outdoors” – and his decision to buck the family trend and pursue a career in cricket has paid off handsomely. As a stylish left-handed batter, Troughton scored nearly 14,000 runs in a 16-year career with Warwickshire, winning two County Championship titles and playing six ODIs for England.

After hanging up his boots in 2014, he was appointed first-team coach at Edgbaston in 2016 and he arrives at the Kia Oval having spent the 2021 season as assistant coach with Somerset.

“This role allows me to go up and down the pro staff,” says Troughton. “Looking after the second team, looking after the younger batters, and hopefully being able to have an impact with some of the first-team batters during the season.”

Troughton, 43, says he’s also looking forward to further strengthening his relationship with Gareth Batty, Surry’s Head Coach, which stretches back more than 20 years, including an England Academy tour overseen by the late Rod Marsh in 2002.

“Batts was a year above me in age-group cricket and I came up against him plenty of times over the years. I was on the second intake of the academy that was based in Adelaide under Rod Marsh, so I got to know him a bit more there. He got me out a few times over the years and let me know about it! We had some good tussles in our time and I’ve got a lot of respect for him.

“I know a number of the staff from over the years and I feel like it’s a well-run, hungry club with some good young players coming through. It’s a big club as well, so it ticked a lot of boxes for me in terms of where I want to work and the impact I feel I can have.”