Fighting fit Fell on verge of first-class comeback

BACK on the field and back in the runs after beating cancer for a second time in less than a year, Worcestershire’s Tom Fell now wants to help his side back to the top tier of the County Championship.

The 22-year-old was diagnosed with testicular cancer last autumn and underwent surgery to remove a tumour in October.

After getting the all clear he spent the winter playing grade cricket in Australia – only to receive a second bout of bad news upon his return.

The right-hander underwent a routine scan and found the cancer had returned in his lymph nodes, meaning he would have to undergo three cycles of chemotherapy.

That was in March. Now, in the first week of June, Fell has already scored a century for club side Wolverhampton and is back playing for Worcestershire’s 2nd XI.

Fell’s 111 helped Wolves past West Bromwich Dartmouth last weekend as the visitors won their third game of the season to sit just below Berkswell and Ombersley in the Birmingham and District Premier League table.

And Worcestershire’s leading run scorer from last season has already averaged 55.33 in three innings for Wolverhampton, leading to thoughts of a return to the County Championship in the weeks to come.

“It’s a nice feeling to be back, it’s been pretty frustrating watching everyone from the sideline and not being able to play, myself,” said the former Oakham School pupil.

“In the last couple of months I have been having chemotherapy, it has been a bit boring if anything.

“Sometimes you feel pretty bad at some stages but I actually got through it pretty well and didn’t really have any major issues throughout it all, which is quite lucky, I think.

“It depends which stage of the cycle you’re in, early on it tends to be a little bit worse but towards the end I was able to do a fair amount, more than I expected.

“I was able to go out and play golf and I actually played a second team game during the second cycle.

“I had a few days where I wasn’t doing anything and I actually felt OK, so I came up to play a second team game.”

Fell’s doctor has now given him the all clear and said there is just a one per cent chance of the cancer returning, but he will still put himself through regular testing to catch anything should it make an unlikely return.

For now though, Fell is intent on returning to the form of last season, which saw him become the only Worcestershire man to pass 1,000 runs and earn himself a new three-year contract.

“Getting the all-clear is a good feeling, it has just been a few months out of my life, which is a bit of a pain, but now it’s all behind me and I can just get on with things,” added Fell.

“I have been scoring runs, which is nice, and I feel in as good a form as I did all of last year, there is no reason why I can’t get back in as soon as possible really.

“We’ve not won many games but we are on top of sides for the most part of matches we’ve played so far.

“And with it being such a young side, it is impressing quite a lot of people around the circuit and I hope we will continue that.

“I think we’ll be right up there and pushing for promotion this year.”