EDAVALATH IN “REALLY GOOD SPOT” DESPITE LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES BECAUSE OF WEATHER

Worcestershire Assistant Coach Richard Jones believes batter Rehaan Edavalath is in “a really good spot” with his game despite the frustration last summer of limited opportunities with the Seconds because of the weather.

Edavalath was restricted to just seven knocks in the Second Eleven Championship during the 2024 campaign although they produced four half centuries and a 49 and a total of 297 runs with an average of 59.40.

Three games of the eight games against Leicestershire, Somerset and Derbyshire saw two of the scheduled four days completely washed out and understandably the match versus Lancashire was cancelled after the passing away of Josh Baker.

Edavalath has combined playing for Worcestershire with the first of four years studying at Loughborough University for a chemical engineering degree.

He hit 72 for the University batting at number four against a strong Kent side in a three day match at Canterbury.

Jones said: “Rehaan was again fantastic to work with. He’s very switched on and knows exactly what he wants to work on at training. 

“He would have liked to have gone on and scored a hundred, because he prides himself on that, but opportunities to do so were hampered by the poor weather. Despite that, I think his game is in a really good spot.

“Every time he batted he looked in good form, well balanced and he’s always been a natural timer of the ball.

“His game is in a place now where if he was required to play, I think he would thrive on the challenge of first class cricket.”

Jones admitted: “It’s been a bit frustrating to be honest, the whole season in general, just because of how much the weather has affected in particular our Championship cricket.

“Most games were rain affected, which obviously restricted opportunities, not only for our young pros but the Academy lads who came in and played games as well.

“But the cricket we have played followed a similar sort of pattern to last year. In the T20s, we managed to put a couple of decent performances together but not enough over that three-week block. It’s an area we must keep working hard on.

“In four-day cricket, we’ve played some really good stuff when we were able to get on the pitch and I was really pleased with our last fixture against Northamptonshire which was our first four-day game all year not affected by the rain.

“Overall a little bit frustrated and I feel for the lads because of the lack of opportunities but one thing that has stood out, and stood out for us a club as a whole, is the way we stuck together.

“Our culture, team ethic and togetherness has really shone through in what ultimately has been a frustrating year.

“To be honest, I think we are quite lucky with the guys here, particularly the young lads.

“Young lads like Henry Cullen, Harry Darley and Rehaan are a joy to work with, very coachable and switched on lads.

“We found times here and there to come in and train and obviously those guys have gone away and played some National Counties stuff as well.

“Their attitude to their training and to their cricket is always first class. It’s now a case of being specific with areas to work on during the winter in order to continue to develop.”

Jones has enjoyed the challenge of having to regularly find triallists to play in T20 and Championship cricket.

He said: “That is actually something I quite enjoy, that part of the job. It has its challenges and from a week to week basis it changes depending on who is available.

“It’s tough but it’s part of the job and I quite enjoy it. This year, I’ve tried to give certain triallists a run of games.

“We’ve used two or three seamers, obviously used Tom Hinley during the T20 which has been a bit of a success story.”