Worcestershire have signed exciting young pace bowler Jack Home on a three-year contract, and the 18-year-old says it is a “dream come true” after progressing through the county’s pathway for the past decade.
Home has put pen to paper at Visit Worcestershire New Road until the end of the 2027 season after a successful Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign.
He was elevated to the senior side and given an opportunity after injuries decimated the squad. He responded with 16 wickets in just five games.
Home’s tally included 6-51 in the away tie against Derbyshire, the best List A bowling analysis by a Worcestershire player for 19 years.
He also had three-wicket hauls against Middlesex, Kent and Hampshire.
But Home, a member of the full Academy intake for the past four years, is aware that he is not the finished article and is determined to reap the benefits of a full winter’s training in striving to improve his game.
He said: “I couldn’t be any more pleased. I’ve been at Worcestershire since I was seven or eight and have been through all the age groups, all the pathways, Sub Academy and Academy.
“When you start the journey and are on the Academy, and you see your contemporaries like Rehaan (Edavalath), Henry (Cullen) and Olly (Cox) getting contracts, that is the thing you strive for.
“To be given the opportunity to play for this club and to sign a three-year contract is a dream come true, and it didn’t take much time to say yes.!”
Home admitted: “It’s been a pretty miraculous rise. I know I’m not the finished article but I’m very happy with how I performed, with the rewards I’ve been given and how it has all panned out. It couldn’t have gone any better.
“I knew I would be playing every other game in that competition (Metro Bank One Day Cup) after speaking with Richo (Alan Richardson) at the start.
“The expectation was to help the team win a couple of games and try my best, and I thought I would be a bit of a backup who would try and chip in a bit.
“The way I performed, I couldn’t have been more pleased, helping the team to some big wins against some big counties.
“When you are younger, seeing these players on TV and then playing against them and sometimes getting them out is a very nice feeling.”
Home is determined to work on his game, including his batting, and said, ” Every day when you are there, you are learning something new, picking up something different, and all the players and coaches are there to help.
“Always listening to them, and they always got good things to say. It will also be good to have an entire winter of training, and I’ve got a lot of things in my game that I can work on.
“If I can have a full winter working on things, I think I can come back a better player for next season and use those things to try and help the club.”
“Next year, I want to be vying to play as many games as possible in the first team and help win games.”
Head Coach Alan Richardson said: “We saw with Jack in the One Day Cup what an exciting cricketer he is.
“He has been with us for a little while now in terms of the Academy and through the Shropshire links, and we’ve kept an eye on him.
“We’ve lost a lot of our homegrown players over the last couple of years, especially last year, so we have to try and start that cycle again, and it feels Jack is a really good way to start that.
“I expect most 18-year-olds to be raw if I’m honest, but what we noticed from Jack is that he really enjoyed playing and wasn’t overawed by playing at all. We saw that in the T20 game (against Derbyshire), and there is a bit of character and personality about him.
“He likes competing and being part of the team so I think that is exciting for us in terms of his character, someone who can bowl quickly and make things happen.
“We saw that in the One Day Cup and in the field, there is lots of potential there, and also with the bat, he is very untapped for us so far, but it is something he is very proud of and has done a lot of at age-group cricket, and batted up the order.”
