Tom Kohler-Cadmore is ready and raring to go ahead of what he believes will be an extremely important fortnight in his burgeoning career at the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
The 26-year-old batsman is one of three Yorkshire stars taking part in the 10-overs per side competition running from this Thursday until February 6.
Kohler-Cadmore will line up for the Pune Devils alongside left-arm wrist spinner Sam Wisniewski, while Adam Lyth – a winner of the last event in late 2019 with Maratha Arabians – has moved teams to play for the Delhi Bulls.
All players will be subject to regular Coronavirus testing, with the White Rose trio tested twice prior to departure late last week.
Kohler-Cadmore was expecting as many as six more tests in the first eight days upon arrival in the Middle East.
“It’s a small price to pay when you get to play some cricket,” he said.
“With last season being shortened, and me missing some games at the end, this is something I’ve been really looking forward to.”
The England Lions batsman said last week that he views Test cricket as the ultimate format of the game. But, nevertheless, he is still very keen to get himself on the foreign domestic T20 leagues bandwagon.
He also played in the last T10 event and has previously played in the Pakistan Super League. But he is yet to taste T20 cricket in countries such as Australia, India and South Africa.
“I actually think T10 cricket puts your skills under even more pressure than T20 does,” said the right-hander, who has been signed up to play in this summer’s Hundred for the Emerald Headingley based Northern Superchargers.
“It puts the bowlers and batters under more pressure to go for dots and singles or to hit boundaries and sixes.
“For me, it’s a great platform to push on from and say, ‘I’ve done really well in this, I’m ready for other leagues around the world’.
“If you’re going around different competitions, you’ll then improve your game at a very fast rate because of the conditions, exposure to different players and coaches.
“It’s amazing to be able to use this tournament as a massive learning opportunity.
“You can talk to players in the dressing room and in the hotel, where you spend more time, and you don’t get that as much in English domestic cricket.
“Before you know it, you’ve got three or four competitions in the winter and you’re doing well in them and then England start noticing that as well.
“If you go and do well in these competitions, it’s only going to benefit Yorkshire in the long run because you’re a better player who understands their game more.”
The forthcoming T10 League will be televised in its entirety live on Sky Sports.
“A massive thing about these tournaments is that they’re all on TV, and people will then see that,” he continued.
“If you score a T20 hundred on TV, it will obviously get more coverage than someone who has scored one that same day not on TV, which can happen in the Blast at home.”
Aside from scoring runs and winning matches, Kohler-Cadmore also has another important role – helping to guide first-time tourist Wisniewski.
The 19-year-old gets his first taste of an overseas league, something which could be a daunting prospect for a player with so little senior experience.
“I’m just going to let him go into the wilderness on his own and I won’t talk to him for two weeks!” Kohler-Cadmore chuckled.
“Seriously, part of my job is to help make him feel as settled as possible.
“I remember my first overseas tournament when a couple of South African team-mates looked after me and made the effort to make sure I was ok. I didn’t know them beforehand, but it was nice to have that and made a big difference.
“That’s definitely something I’ll be doing with Sam.
“This time it’s going to be a bit of a different experience for us all with Covid and having to stay on your own hotel floor and stuff like that.
“I’ve told him to take an Xbox or PS4 to keep himself entertained because there could be quite a lot of time in your room given games are only about 90 minutes long.
“It will hopefully help him learn quickly, and me as well if I’m being that more senior figure.
“For him being out there at his age, it’s going to be massive in terms of his development. He just needs to be a sponge and absorb it all.
“Hopefully he plays every game and nails it with the ball. But if he doesn’t, he should still get plenty out of it.”
