Matt Mason says young Worcestershire paceman Adam Finch has been transformed into a bowler good enough to be picked for England Under-19s after reaping the benefits of an intense winter programme.
The 17-year-old has been included in the squad for the five ODIs with India Under-19s – starting with tomorrow’s opener in Cardiff.
Finch recently completed his first five wicket haul for Worcestershire Seconds in the Championship match with Yorkshire at RGS Worcester.
And County bowling coach Mason is convinced Finch is one of a young crop of bowlers earmarked for a bright future at New Road.
He said: “Finchy is a great one because he has not been bowling all that long. It’s only been a couple of years since he started taking his bowling semi-seriously.
“But the work he has done in the winter has transformed him.
“Kevin Shine at the ECB is very excited about Finchy. The potential and scope there for improvement is massive and to also bowl quickly.
“You forget he is only just turned 17 so he is one we really have got earmarked for the future.
“He is one of that group of three or four that we’ve got that we are really excited about.”
Mason added: “It will be a great experience for him to be with England Under-19s because I bet three years ago he wasn’t even thinking about it.
“He was then playing a bit of cricket, very much a club bowler. No-one really knew too much about it.
“Suddenly he has grown, he has grown very tall, become very strong, has got the ball down at a decent pace and then with some work we’ve done with him over the winter, both practically and technically, he has grown, and his attitude is fantastic.
“He obviously loves the game. He is still at school so we haven’t had the contact time with him and haven’t been able to do all the work we wanted. But he is playing some second team cricket now. Definitely one to watch.”
