daryl mitchell says he is delighted to pass on his knowledge gleamed during his lengthy career to jack haynes and is looking forward to again batting with the england under-19 player.
the opening batsman has been playing first class cricket for 15 years while the highly promising haynes only made his senior debut at the tail-end of last summer.
haynes has an eagerness to learn and studied mitchell’s fine 139 out of 299 all out against glamorgan at New Road last summer following his dismissal after the pair had shared in a partnership of 69.
but mitchell has also been happy to share his experiences from a career in which he has scored more than 13,000 first class runs at an average of 40.
mitchell said: “over the last 12 months or so, i’ve probably spent a bit more time with jack and tried to impart some of the knowledge i’ve got.
“i’m pretty quick to stress he’s got to make his own way and make his own decisions and work things out for himself.
“there is no better coach for someone than yourself.
“you’ve got to know your game inside out but if i can help with that process in anyway, i certainly will.
“we’ve paired up a few times and had throw-downs pre-games, had some conversations in hotels and changing rooms.
“it is good to spend a little time, particularly with someone who has got as much promise as jack has.
“i’m really excited to try and play a lot more cricket with him over the next couple of years and spend a lot more time with him, and help him in some small way to contribute large amounts of runs to worcestershire.”
mitchell admits he is still trying to improve his game even after such an elongated and successful career.
he said: “i think we all learn from watching each other and the way different people go about things.
“at 36, i still feel there are ways you can learn, watch other batters, how they go about things, how they execute certain shots, or watch bowlers and how they are trying to bowl and working people out and learn from your mistakes.
“there is always stuff to learn across the board and it’s good to hear jack has got that right mentality already and wants to learn and get better.
“it will stand him in good stead moving forward.”
