IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for most of us to imagine just how difficult it must be to follow in the footsteps of a distinguished father. All those awful comparisons and that colossal burden of expectation; is it really any wonder that Liam Botham has packed his cricket bat away and popted for rugby instead?

So how on earth will Dean Headley feel when England arrive in Jamaica for the opening Test match against West Indies? Not merely the son of a former Jamaica and West Indies batsman, Headley is the grandson of a man whom probably only Bob Marley could challenge for the title of the most famous Jamaican there has ever been.

 George Headley was a legendary batsman at a time when, in that part of the world, cricketers were rapidly elevated to hero status. His record of 2190 runs and ten centuries in 22 Tests gave him an average of 60.83: only Graeme Pollock and Don Bradman have done better. For a truly Jamaican point of view, I sought out Michael Holding. ` George was a member of the same cricket club as me and when I was 12 he presented me with a certificate which I still have at home. He signed the back and wrote: Play cricket and see the world. Whenever he visited the club on match days the whisper would quickly go around the ground: Massa's here.'

Perhaps it is not entirely surprising that Dean is, initially at least, reluctant to talk about his illustrious grandfather. It must seem to him that the media is interested in little else: `Well, Dean, you're a jolly good cricketer yourself, but tell us about your grandad…' And as we settled down to breakfast during the recent tournament in Sharjah, Headley warned me that he did not wish to dwell too long on the subject. However, by the time his poached eggs on toast had arrived, he was warming to the task. One reason might have been that the Test at Sabina Park still seemed to be a long way off.

`I don't really like talking about it all – not in any great depth anyway,' he said in his unmistakable West Midlands accent. `I will always be George's grandson, and while that isn't exactly a cross I have to bear, I have to deal with it. Of course I'm extremely proud because as far as I know we are the only family to have done this in any sport, but the fact is I'll be going to an island where George is a legend.

` Courtney Walsh told me that whatever happens at Sabina Park will stay with me for the rest of my life'

`I'll give you an example of what I mean: the opening match in Sharjah was the first game I've played in in which Steve Bucknor [the Jamaican umpire] has stood. I handed him my cap as I marked out my run-up and said: Hello, Steve. He simply replied: Ah! The third-generation Headley!

`Even Jamaican children aged seven know about George Headley. People of my age never saw him bat but they can tell you all about him. He's still referred to as  Massa George and when he died in 1983 it was like a state funeral. Everyone came out and stood on their doorsteps. Now I wish I had been there. I was 14 years old and Dad went on his own.

` George was buried at sea and I'm sure he requested that because he didn't want people to mourn for him. That's the kind of man he was. Jimmy Adams told me that when they met, George only wanted to talk about Jimmy's batting, not his own. He would never have said In my day when I scored ten centuries in 22 Tests …'

 Dean's father, Ron, who played in two Tests for West Indies during his county career at Worcester, missed the first few hours of his son's debut at Old Trafford last summer and heard the commentary of Dean's first wicket on his car radio as he raced up the motorway to Manchester. However, there is no chance that he will miss what promises to be an emotional and highly charged occasion in Kingston.

`Dad will be coming out for the Test and I know people will be trying to make a big thing of it,' admitted Dean with a weary expression. `There's no way I'll be going back to George's house for photos or any of that stuff; I'm not going to be set up. My grandmother still lives in Jamaica, I've got a lot of friends there and I played at Sabina Park recently for a Representative XI against New Zealand. I hadn't bowled a ball for two months, got clattered all round the ground and my mates were there, laughing. They didn't stop going on about it all night!

 Courtney Walsh has told me that whatever happens in the Test at Sabina Park will stay with me for the rest of my life. I'm not so sure because one game won't make my career, but it would make it more tolerable if I do well!

`I'll be honest, I'm expecting quite a reception at Sabina Park – not hostile, necessarily, but plenty of lively banter. West Indian crowds do give you some stick, but if you respond they love you for it.'

It is quite possible, of course, to turn this whole argument on its head and look at it from the famous father's point of view. How desperately you must want your son to derive the same enjoyment and success out of a sport which has been your life, especially when you are such a fanatical cricket-lover as Ron Headley.

`Dad talks about cricket all the time,' sighed Dean. `It drives me mad! That's where we differ because I need to switch off from the game but he just loves it. Goodness knows what he was like when he was playing!

`When I was living on my own, Dad found it hard to believe that I was playing professional cricket and doing all my own washing. He just couldn't understand it, not because he was lazy when he played; just that he was so totally focused on cricket.

`I hit Mark Taylor on the head early on, and I knew I had to be working up a decent pace'

`People say that Dad must have pushed me hard to play cricket but that wasn't the case at all. He came to England aged 12 for his education and didn't see his father very often. I think that made him realise that I should be brought up knowing that I am my own person. Of course I have a family and they are very important to me but at the end of the day I am an individual. If I had become an accountant, at least I would have achieved something. The point is that it doesn't matter what you achieve as long as you get there in the end.'

I had to raise the question of Dean's Englishness purely for the reason that people might wonder how a man with such obvious West Indian connections could end up playing for England. The story is that Ron met Gail, a West Midland girl, while he was playing for Worcestershire (no doubt to the enormous relief of team-mates who were noticing that Ron's cricket clothes were beginning to walk around the dressing room on their own!).

`I know this has been an issue over the last few years but no one can possibly doubt my right or desire to Play for England,' said Dean. `Besides, I think if you are faced with a decision about who to play for and your heart isn't really in it you'll soon be found out. Let's face it, Devon Malcolm played all his cricket in this country. Phillip DeFreitas and Chris Lewis were both educated in London so I don't think anybody could point a finger at them.

`When I was picked for England last summer I was sent a fax from the West Indies Board of Control. It said: Well done and many congratulations. Your dad must be very proud. They sent him one, too. I thought that was really nice.'

Apart from the result ( Australia won by 268 runs), Dean's Test debut could hardly have gone better. He took four wickets in each innings and appeared to be surprisingly relaxed.

`Of course I was nervous,' he admitted.'I was bound to be. But I do find it easier playing Test matches than one-day internationals. There's more tension in the one-dayers because you don't have any time to settle in. At least in Tests if it all goes wrong in your first spell, there's always the chance to get it right in your second, or your third. The 15-over field restrictions don't help either although I'm finding it easier with every game I play.

`I'm philosophical about the field restrictions. There's no time for looseners any more; you get batsmen charging you from the word go. If I bowl a good ball just back of a good length and it gets carved over cover for four, all I can say is OK. Good luck. And try to make sure he doesn't do it to the next ball.

`I like the challenge and, although it's a bit drastic, I suppose it has added something to the game. As a bowler it's no good moaning. You've just got to get on with it.

`The funny thing about my Test debut was that I had to play. against Cambridge University to prove my fitness immediately before the match and it was the worst I had bowled for four years! I know when the ball isn't coming out properly because it tends to nip back at the righthanders. I tried to look at it positively this time because the Australian team was full of lefthanders.

`I hit Mark Taylor on the head early on at Old Trafford and that gave me a bit of a lift because I knew I had to be working up a decent pace. Certainly, taking the early wicket, when Graham Thorpe caught Taylor at slip, helped to settle me down.

`Unfortunately it's been noted that England have lost all three Tests I've played. People have remarked that I'm not a good omen for the team and that got even worse when I pulled out of the Oval Test through injury, and England went and won it!'

Oh yes! What about all these injuries? What chance is there of Headley completing the tour of West Indies in one piece? I sensed I had touched a raw nerve.

`It's easy to get labelled injury-prone but I have proved in the past that I am perfectly willing to play through discomfort,' he insisted.'I bowled for ten weeks with a double hernia four years ago and, believe me, that is playing through pain. I also went through the whole of the A tour in Australia knowing that my hip was badly injured. It happened in only the second game of the tour and I knew it was serious. In fact, I had to have an operation when I got home. I can assure you I don't take the easy option.

`Most of my injuries have been structural rather than soft tissue and there's not much you can do about those. I don't pull calf muscles or hamstrings and I do get a bit upset when people talk about me and injuries in the same breath. I think people can be a bit uneducated about it because it really bolls down to luck whether or not you pick them up.

`It doesn't prey on my mind. I suppose if I was a 20-year-old just starting out it might worry me, but I'm 28, 1 know my own game now.'

A quick change of subject was called for: England's success in the Sharjah tournament and particularly the refreshing upbeat mood of the players. `I've really enjoyed it,' he said with obvious relish. `This is certainly the best I have known in my short time in the England set-up. I thought it was good during the summer against Australia but this has gone even further than that. Everyone here is a character and I think going to Pakistan for a week first must have helped to break the ice and get everyone together.'

Our conversation drifted back to the Caribbean tour. Although Headley has played only three Tests he finds himself one of England's senior bowlers. Maybe that is why Angus Fraser has been given the extra responsibility of coaching Headley, Cowan and Co.

After his brief flirtation with Middlesex before joining Kent, Dean knows Fraser pretty well. `I'm sure Gus won't be content with just coaching. He's extremely competitive and I can't see him sitting on his backside for three months in the West Indies saying Well done lads! Have a go at doing this with the ball. He'll be trying like mad to get into the Test team – he might even start in the side.

`Gus has got the reputation of being Mr Reliable and I remember him telling me to make sure that I never go for more than two and a half runs per over. If I do that, and take a wicket every 60 balls, I'll average 25 at the end of the season. If I concede three runs every over, I'll finish with an average of 30; and that's quite a difference. I'll be honest, I'm not very interested in figures but I do keep track of how many runs I've given away in one-day cricket because I can then set myself targets at the start of every over.'

So, what about the outcome of the series. Is my optimism – not to mention my now-infamous £20 bet – going to be rewarded?

`It's got to be an England win,' Headley said, reassuringly.'It can't be anything else. We feel very prepared and know it'll be tough against their quick bowlers, but if you play any sport at the highest level it is physical. Cricket might not look it, but that ball hurts. We've got to stand there, take the pain and the hard work: that's our team ethic.

`We're also realistic and know that although they got beaten in Pakistan, they've got a number of match-winners. Every team goes through change and the West Indies were at the to of the tree for years. It's inevitable that they should go through a slump, but they'll be dangerous and we've got to expect a backlash.'

`I can't see Gus sitting on his backside for three months saying Well done lads! Have a go at doing this with the ball'

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