Adam Finch says Worcestershire Head Coach, Alan Richardson, has been a massive influence on his development as a bowler since his return to New Road five years ago.
Richardson initially enjoyed four productive seasons as the leader of the attack with Worcestershire and then made the move to Warwickshire as Bowling Coach.
He came back to Worcestershire during the winter of 2017-2018 in a similar capacity before becoming Assistant Coach, and subsequently Head Coach for the 2024 campaign when promotion was secured to Division One of the County Championship.
Finch was still over a year away from making his first team debut and had just featured in the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand when Richardson returned.
But he has made significant strides forward and says Richardson’s advice and understanding of how a bowler develops during their career, through the ups and downs, have been a major help to himself.
The 23-year-old, now back to bowling after his end of season back injury, said: “Richo (Alan Richardson), for as long as he has been involved with Worcestershire, has been a massive part of my development.
“The reason for that is that he understands the ebbs and flows of the season, the career, because he has come from a not dissimilar situation.
“That gives him a real perspective and it means, if I’ve come off and had a bad day or a bad session, which can happen, I can be frank and honest.
“I can say I wasn’t very good, I’m going to be better and he will say okay. If you were to try and lie to him and mask something, that is when there would be an issue, and his understanding of the game has been massive for me.”
Finch added: “He has given me those little snippets of information where you say ‘I didn’t think about that’ but mainly it’s his character in that you know you are going to get an honest conversation, someone who is going to work his backside off to make sure you are getting better and will always fight your corner.
“If someone wants to learn, he is always ready to help and he has got a real passion to make someone better, not just as cricketers but as people as well, and make sure the club is heading in the right direction.
“Richo, from the moment he started as Bowling Coach, has always been a really influential figure for me.”
