Alex Gidman says Pat Brown has the hunger to “carry on improving” to bolster his chances of firmly establishing himself as part of the England set-up.
Worcestershire CCC paceman Brown made his international breakthrough last month when playing for England in two warm-up games and four T20Is against New Zealand.
It was a promising debut series for the 21-year-old who twice dismissed star Black Caps batsman Ross Taylor and was unfortunate to have several catches put down off his bowling.
Now ahead of him is another major stage on which to showcase his talents when he plays for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League which gets underway later this month.
First Team Coach Gidman said: “The grounds are tiny out there in New Zealand and they are good batting wickets so to go at nine and a half-ten runs an over is pretty standard these days out there.
“Pat did really, really well. He was actually quite unlucky, had a lot of catches dropped and a lot of balls which just fell short of fielders.
“On another day, in another series, four or five of those go to hand and it turns from being a good effort into a really, really good international start.
“I think he conducted himself really well and he should be pretty pleased with how he went about his business.
“Everything we’ve heard from Pat is that it is an amazing experience to be involved in international cricket. He has probably got a flavour for it now and, like anyone, you would expect him to come back and be hungry to improve and to get better and try and establish himself in that squad for the next couple of years.
“But our message to Pat would be take it one day at a time, try and improve, getting strong and seeing where it takes him in the next couple of months.”
Brown will replace Dale Steyn as the Melbourne Stars overseas player for the final eight group games.
Gidman said: “He has got a great opportunity in the Big Bash to turn some more heads and to impress even more.
“The more he improves now, the better chance he will have now of establishing himself in that (England) group.
“He has got a great approach to his job. His job is a very tough job and he will have plenty of tough days and tough experiences.
“But he keeps coming back to the well and trying to compete in those situations again and as a club, as a coach, and as captains, that is all you can ask for – guys who keeping coming back and trying and wanting to improve.
“I’m sure he will do that because he’s got the mental application and all the attributes to try and improve.”
