Worcestershire Head Coach Alan Richardson believes Ed Pollock is still evolving as a cricketer and has faith in his ability to be a match winner.
Pollock showed his potential by making key contributions for Worcestershire during his first season at New Road in 2022.
A magnificent century in the County Championship win over Middlesex at Merchant Taylor’s School was the highlight but there were several other important knocks.
He experienced a challenging time during last summer’s promotion campaign but has scored a bucketful of runs this winter for St. George CC in the New South Wales Premier Cricket first grade.
Richardson said: “I’ve known Ed a long time, since he was at Shrewsbury School, and what has always caught my eye is his match-winning ability.
“He has shown that a couple of times for us already in T20 cricket and red ball cricket over the last couple of years.
“As he was trying to evolve his game, he got stuck between trying to be a little bit more consistent, which is what every sports people want, but we don’t want to lose that potential of winning us games of cricket.
“The innings at Merchant Taylor’s…..as a coach I look at the make-up of the team, and I want as many match-winners in there as possible, and Ed is one of those.
“You also know as a coach you might not get that consistency from players, but that’s fine because it’s a team game.
“It’s an individual sport played as a team so you can put those bits together and we all know that not all 11 players are going to be consistent.
“So, if you are not, and can win us a game of cricket, that’s great.
“It’s a great opportunity for Ed. He is evolving, he’s still on his journey about how he is going to play his cricket.
“I want him just to enjoy his cricket as much as possible.”
Pollock has scored runs on a regular basis to help St. George top the table this winter.
Richardson said: “He looked at the challenge of going away to Sydney, playing at a really good club in St. George, one of the oldest clubs going, with amazing facilities and a very strong club.
“I was really happy that he went away. Everyone’s cricket career is over in a flash and, if you don’t enjoy it and take some opportunities, you will regret that.
“He has been working incredibly hard on his fitness and his game, and it will be really exciting to see him when he gets back.
“We talk about intent quite a lot as a batting group and everyone has different ways of doing that.
“Some will run incredibly hard between the wickets, some will hit boundaries, but it’s all about showing a little bit of intent in whatever position you are in.
“That will be one of the key things for Ed to be successful. No-one was more frustrated with Ed’s season than Ed.
“He is such a valuable asset to the squad, because he gives us so much, and let’s hope he has a really enjoyable season this summer.”
