Feroze’s got Blast off after nets with Test ace Westley

Feroze Khushi spent this winter working in the nets with Tom Westley – an arrangement which clearly worked out for both, with the latter earning a first England call-up, while the former racked up the runs for Essex’s second XI and club side Wanstead & Snaresbrook.

Just 18 years old, Khushi is on the fringes of the Essex first team, he travelled with the squad for their final Blast clash against Sussex and could yet feature in the County Championship run-in.

And in fellow righthander Westley, the teenager found a logical mentor to work with, as well as a willing teacher.

“I did a bit of work with Tom in the nets and got some advice from him,” said Khushi.

“He’s a similar batsman to the way I try to play, he’s quite positive early on and plays a lot of quite wristy shots which I do as well.

“He’s one of the guys at the club who I really like to watch when he’s batting, not just because he’s a top-order batsman like me, but also the style.

“There’s obviously a good atmosphere around the club at the moment and hopefully I’ll get a chance of playing a county game before the end of the season.”

Now a regular at the top of the order, it hadn’t always been that way for Khushi, who started out life as a seam bowler batting in the tail.

But after working his way up to three or four, he has established himself as one of the most prolific runscorers in the Essex Premier League, topping the scoring charts this season for club side Wanstead & Snaresbrook.

His 702 runs, including a couple of centuries and five 50s, took them to the brink of the title, only to see it slip away on the final day with defeat to Chingford.

“It was devastating for the club to let it slip like that,” he added.“We’d worked so hard all year and got ourselves into that position and we were so close to making it back-to-back titles.

“It’s a real shame but from a personal perspective it’s been a good season, finishing as the top run-scorer which was one of my objectives.

“It’s a great club to be part of, I’ve been there since I was seven.

“We’re in the Club Championship Final this Sunday, which is being played in Chelmsford, so hopefully we can make up for the disappointment of last weekend in that.”

Beyond Essex and Wanstead, Khushi’s other upcoming objective is with England U19s.

Not selected for the summer series against India, he is hoping to be part of the squad that travels to New Zealand for the U19 World Cup next January.

“I was involved in an invitational game this summer but didn’t play against India for the U19s,” he said.

“It would be great to get a chance to go to New Zealand, it will be an amazing trip so that’s pretty much my main goal at the moment.”