Being a chartered accountant in the making, New Zealand opening batsman Jeet Raval is pretty good with numbers.
And Yorkshire will be hoping their new signing ends the summer with plenty of runs to tot up.
Raval has signed on with the White Rose to play in their last four Specsavers County Championship matches as a replacement for compatriot Kane Williamson.
The Indian-born left-hander, 29, will debut against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge a week on Tuesday and also play against Lancashire, Hampshire and Worcestershire.
Raval is an unassuming character who describes his method at the crease as “orthodox, simple and nothing too fancy”.
He arrived at Emerald Headingley on the morning of the final Vitality Blast group game against Notts and trained with his new team-mates at Scarborough earlier this week.
Raval will play in next week’s second XI three-day game at Somerset from Tuesday and is relishing his first taste of county cricket.
“I’m thrilled to be here,” said the 11-time Kiwi Test star. “It’s a fantastic opportunity.
“When I found out there was a chance to come here, I took it with both hands. There was no hesitation. I’m really excited about the next few weeks.
“I’ve got no doubt that Kane’s played a huge role in this, which is nice.
“There’s a very proud history at this club, and hopefully I can contribute on and off the field.
“Yorkshire is one of the biggest names in cricket. They’ve had a lot of success, winning 35 titles or around about that.
“The names that have gone on to play for England from Yorkshire is very impressive.
“It’s a fantastic club to be involved with.
“So far my time has been fantastic, and the boys have been really welcoming.
“It’s been a good week acclimatising, getting to know the guys and getting some training under my belt.”
Raval’s stay at Headingley may be towards the back end of the season, but he has a lot of cricket to look forward to. After all, four games is the equivalent of half a Plunket Shield campaign back home.
“Four games is a long time,” he continued.
“My role is to bat for as long as possible. That’s what I’ve been doing for my first-class side back home and for New Zealand. As an opening batsman, you want to deny the opposition for a long period of time and set up a big total.
Raval, who plays his first-class cricket for Auckland, was born in Gujarat in India before moving Down Under aged 15 as his family searched for a better lifestyle.
He played age-group cricket against Che Pujara before moving and has only just returned from the country of his birth following a four-week training camp, with the aim of improving his play against spin and getting ready for similar conditions in the UAE, where New Zealand tour in a few months’ time.
Raval has a relaxed outlook on cricket, owed much to his qualification as an accountant.
“I’ve got an accounting degree, and I also worked a bit for a firm called BDO when I was on a first-class contract, which only runs for seven months,” he explained.
“The other five, I’d go and work for BDO.
“Now I’m on a central contract, I don’t work for them, just keep in touch and have a good relationship.
“I’ve just started my chartered accountancy exams. There’s five of them, and I’ve completed one.
“During the off season, when I have a couple of months off, I try and do that.
“It’s nice to have a balance between cricket and real life in a sense.
“It helps me get away from cricket mentally and look at something else. It means when I come back to cricket, I’m fresher and really look forward to it.
“It’s worked out really well.
“At the end of the day, cricket is only a short-term thing. Life is a lot longer. It’s nice to have that mental peace to know ‘It’s ok for me if this doesn’t work out’.”
