Captain Jake Libby has been impressed by the three youngsters blooded by Worcestershire Rapids during the 2022 Royal London Cup.
Keeper-batter Henry Cullen, all-rounder Reeve Evitts and spinner Olly Davidson – all members of the 2021-2022 Academy intake – made their senior debuts during the competition.
It followed on from spinner Josh Baker being given a long spell of Royal London Cup action last summer when Cullen and pace bowler Ben Parker were also part of the squad.
Libby said: “This competition now produces a lot of players who are given their debut, and I think all three of them have done really good jobs.
“Reeve came in up at Lancashire and did an outstanding job. It is great to see their development, and I hope they will have learned a lot from their experiences.
“It can only help them in their careers. The character of the three of them means they are really good blokes to have around.
“They have filled in really well, and, moving forward, I think they have got bright futures.”
Libby says the Worcestershire players are determined to try and finish the 2022 season on a high note when they return to LV=Insurance County Championship action.
The Rapids brought down the curtain on white-ball cricket with yesterday’s high-scoring encounter with Glamorgan in the Royal London Cup at New Road.
After a short break, the emphasis will firmly switch to the remaining four Championship matches, away to Glamorgan and Sussex and at home to Nottinghamshire and Middlesex.
Libby said: “It is an important September for the club and the players. We have got a lot to try and turn around, and we have a little break before that and four big games to finish with in red-ball cricket.
“The white ball stuff is done with for this year, and we can put all the focus on the red ball and a really strong finish.
“I know the guys will be keen for a really good month and to get some really positive results.”
The Rapids closed on 337-9 in reply to Glamorgan’s 356-3, with Libby and Ben Cox both registering their third fifty-plus scores in the competition in addition to Joe Leach’s rapid 63.
Libby said: “We were disappointed with how we finished with the ball and them getting slightly too many runs, not necessarily on that surface but from the situation, we got ourselves in and how well we bowled to start with.
“The run chase was not a million miles off, but it was a big score, and we just didn’t get quite a big (individual) score needed to chase that score down.
“Sam Northeast and Billy Root batted superbly after Joe Leach and Dillon Pennington bowled really well for us with the new ball when it nipped around and did a bit.”
