Worcestershire resume their season against Kent at Canterbury on Friday, less than a week after the tragic death of their young spinner Josh Baker. Pear County is already one of the most resilient—New Road floods every year, resources are scarce, and its brightest minds are often lost to competitors—but that trait is being tested like never before.
“Guys are still grappling with this,” said head coach Allen Richardson, who is now trying to guide his team through the worst of it. “Many of them have never experienced grief before. As we reach different milestones along the way, the shock and sadness still continue to surface.
The first of these occurred on Tuesday as Worcestershire’s players resumed training at New Road – with floodwaters now receding – just five days after the unexpected death of 20-year-old Baker. His parents, Paul and Lisa, also came to the Nets to spend time with their son’s friends and teammates, even as they themselves endured unimaginable pain.
Needless to say, this is an optional test, which is made even more difficult when anti-doping agency testers unfortunately arrive on site. The choice of a League One fifth game against Kent has also been left to the players to decide whether they can resume play so soon, but they have put their hands up in memory of their team-mates despite any pressure.
“It’s been a tough week coming back,” Richardson said. “When you walk into the locker room and see Josh’s locker room, you think he’s going to be there. He’s a very special guy: talented, competitive, stubborn.” And it’s very, very fun. It’s always fun to sit on the balcony in New Road for half an hour with Josh.
“The lads are hugely grateful to Paul and Lisa for coming back and attending our first training session. They have been great supporters of Josh and the club. The response from the national and international cricket community just shows how close it has been. The tributes received have been great for Josh and the club.” A huge relief to us and his family.
“There are no expectations for any of the players or staff at the moment; training is optional, selection is optional and if the players are not ready, that’s OK. We have told them that there is no expectation of any possible consequences on the pitch. It’s okay to feel nervous or scared. We all go at our own pace and everyone will react differently.
As Richardson tells it, Baker has packed a lot into his young cricketing career, coming through the academy and making his debut at the age of 18 and representing England in the under-19s. Hope for more to come.
“When I first met Josh, he was about 16 years old,” Richardson said. “It was an academy meeting at Evesham and even though he wasn’t part of the academy at the time, I saw this left-arm spin bowler and he was so accurate and bowled so fast. You could see there was something there. can use.
“But what I really noticed was about six months later, when he took time off from school to play with the first-team professionals. This time, there was a real light in his eyes, as if the more difficult the challenge, the more he The more enjoyable it is. Who knows what will happen next, but he has real power and ability on the ball, can catch slipping pigeons, and is an aspiring batsman who could have transformed himself in time. Player number seven.
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Richardson recalls an “incredible” unbeaten 61-run run as a teenager in the ‘cabbage patch’ at Lord’s in his first season in 2021, in addition to 43 first-class wickets, as the final talent It has also stood out. , a game that turned the game around and possibly defined the season.
It was Baker, whose performance in the final game at Headingley secured promotion to League One, an honor he says should have gone to Dooli, given his family’s links with the club Vera. “That’s really Josh,” Richardson said. “He’s very calm and low-key at times. But I’m really happy it’s him; an academy product who’s passionate about cricket and playing for Worcestershire. He’ll do whatever the team needs.
To this end, the team will honor Baker by printing his team number 33 on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. “The idea came from the lads and we really wanted to show that Josh is still there,” Richardson added of his players’ return to the pitch. “We will always be thinking of him.”
