Jack learns family business with the help of Haynes Snr
In cricket, it can be very difficult for a batter to find that one coach they can trust implicitly.
But for England Lions and Worcestershire cricketer Jack Haynes, that coach is a member of his family – his dad Gavin, himself a former New Road favourite.
Haynes Junior flies out to Sri Lanka today with the Lions to participate in their two-match Test series in Asia. It is the second time the youngster has been selected after he went on a training camp to Dubai with them before Christmas.
Jack, who turns 22 at the end of the month, represented England at under-19 level and has played 32 first-class matches for Worcestershire, with an average of just under 38.
And the Kidderminster-born cricketer still has regular batting sessions with his dad, a former professional cricketer himself, who played for the Pears between 1989 and 2000.
More than 20 years after retiring, Gavin is now a level four coach, who runs his own company First Class Cricket Coaching.
He is highly regarded, and multiple professional cricketers seek him out for his advice, including his son, who revealed the pair are in constant dialogue about how he can continue to improve.
“I am lucky, that I have him there, to be honest,” Jack said about his relationship with his dad.
“As a coach and as a mentor for me up to where I am now. It is nice to have that external view, you are at Worcester, and you play for your county and it is your job. But speaking to someone who has been there, and who knows my game better than anyone, he can offer little things that could creep and he will say ‘what do you think about this?’.
“I try to hit with him once a week in the summer even while games are going on, I have an hour or two-hour net with him just to keep things ticking over.
“I use him a lot in the winter, too, while I am here. He is a reliable source and he is pretty good as well.
“Nowadays, if you are lucky enough to play for a few different teams, or a few different coaches, it is nice to have that one constant there to bounce ideas off, outside of the environment, that you can trust.
“We talk a lot technically, and we have done from a young age.
“We watch a lot of videos of me batting from when I was younger and what I was doing well, and just trying to find ways to eke out some more improvement and make myself less susceptible to certain dismissals we think can make a big difference in the long run.”
Haynes had his breakthrough season in 2022 when he scored his maiden County Championship century against a Durham side that included England captain Ben Stokes.
And Haynes, who went to Malvern College, is pleased with the progress he made last summer.
He said: “I felt there were a couple of things stopping me from going on and getting bigger scores, the biggest thing was a mindset shift.
“Coming into the season, I was adamant I wanted to bat longer and occupy the crease for longer instead of showing a little bit of inexperience and playing too many shots and trying to score a hundred before I have even got to 10.
“So it was just about being a bit more patient, trying to bat a little bit longer and consume a few more balls.
“It was trying to get the bowlers into their third spells and to the end of the day where you can really cash in.
“That was what I had not really done in previous years, mindset wise and tactically they got better in red-ball cricket.”
Haynes flies out to Sri Lanka today, and he is hoping to make the most of the opportunity if he gets the nod.
He added: “I am just looking forward to getting going now really.
“The Dubai camp was training-focused, even though we had that game at the end against the England team, which was good, but this is more of a competitive series so I will hopefully get an opportunity in that.
“Fingers crossed I get a go, and hopefully I can show what I can do.
“I have been to Sri Lanka before and I loved it so looking forward to getting out there.”
n Birmingham Bears’ leading 2022 Vitality Blast wicket-taker Jake Lintott has signed a new contract extension to keep him at the club until at least the end of the 2025 season.
The wrist-spinner penned a T20 Blast deal following his successful trial in 2020, taking ten wickets, before signing his first professional deal with the cub in 2021.
“I’m delighted to extend my stay with the Bears,” said Lintott. “Edgbaston has become my home, and I’m excited by what the future can hold.”
