LAST WINTER one of Tom Helm’s main aims for England Lions’ trip to Sri Lanka was to leave the tour “in one piece”, such was the injury-torn start to his career.
His progress since has been such that the Middlesex quick was talked about as a wildcard for England’s Ashes squad. He is now preparing to depart for Australia with the Lions next week.
His fortunes turned around when he was drafted in from the England pace programme for that Sri Lanka tour after impressing as a net bowler for the Lions in the UAE.
“Due to not having bowled much the previous year through injury (four one-day matches), I had every intention of bowling as much as I could throughout the winter,” Helm, 23, told The Cricket Paper. “I guess I did pretty well as a net bowler in front of the right people and ended up getting called onto the full Lions tour.”
Helm impressed in Sri Lanka, playing a ‘Test’ and four ODIs, taking a one-day 5-33 in Colombo, the second-best ever by a Lions bowler.
“It was a great feeling, an incredible day. My first five-for in professional cricket as well.”
It was a major confidence boost for the youngster who came through the Buckinghamshire youth system before joining the Middlesex academy.
This story is from the November 10,2017 edition of The Cricket Paper.
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This story is from the November 10,2017 edition of The Cricket Paper.
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