HAVING managed to survive just three balls in your opening two first-class innings on your county’s home turf, a rookie batsman could be forgiven for feeling apprehensive as he strode out to the middle to face the might of Australia’s Ashes bowling attack.

That was the situation Worcestershire’s Tom Fell found himself up against during last week’s tour match at New Road, though, and he came through with flying colours, ending the day on a career-best 62 not out.

However, dressing-room banter can be cruel and, prior to Fell’s visit to the middle, the question on his team-mate’s lips was if he’d make it to double-figures, but they were talking about the number of balls faced, not runs scored.

On his List ‘A’ debut for the County, Fell was run-out second ball and it got worse on his four-day bow when he was trapped lbw first up against Glamorgan, leading to plenty of ribbing from his colleagues.

Fell admitted: “We were joking before the game about me trying to get out of double figures — in terms of balls not runs!

“I’d had a bit of a torrid time at New Road before this game, so it was nice to finally do it in front of a full-house of home fans.

“I was delighted with the 50. Against a side like Australia, it is always a fantastic experience. To play pretty well felt really good.

“We didn’t have much chance of winning the game, so we thought if we could bat the day that would be a job well done.

“It was being thrown in the deep end a little bit, but it is one of those experiences you can only learn from. I kind of had nothing lose.

“You go out there thinking if you get out, it’s against some fantastic bowlers.

“If you get runs, it’s a bonus. It is difficult to relax when youve got some quick bowlers coming at you but you do almost feel like the pressure is off a bit although you do have a job to do for the team.

“It does help knowing you’ve got nothing to lose to go out and do your thing.”

Fell has just finished his first year at Oxford University and is on a summer contract with Worcestershire, but he hopes to land a full-time deal as soon as he can.

He added: “I’ve just finished my first year at university, but I’m thinking about taking a year out next year, looking to maybe go away over the winter.

“I’ve played a lot of cricket at Oxford this summer and got a couple of first-class games in, which was a really good experience.

“But I really want to give cricket a go and going away to Australia this winter will give me a good chance of cracking on with it.

“The plan is to put the degree on hold for a year. I was a bit surprised to be thrown into the first team almost as soon as I got back from university.

“Worcestershire like playing young players, they always have done, so it’s a good county to be at if you are looking to play a bit of first team cricket and put your name out there.

“Earning a full-time contract is the ultimate plan. If I keep doing my thing, hopefully that opportunity will come.”