Grayson and Breese key to county chance
With Paul Grayson at the helm and Gareth Breese teaching him the tricks of the offspinning trade, it is little wonder that Charlie Macdonell is reaping the benefits at Durham MCCU.
The 21-year-old was dumped by Northamptonshire at age-group level – he opened the batting with Ben Duckett – but has made counties sit up and notice with some virtuoso displays already this year.
He totted up scores of 91, 81 not out and 109 in firstclass games against Gloucestershire, Derbyshire and Durham this season, and, unsurprisingly, has since been inundated with secondteam invites.
And the inspiration behind his blossoming form, according to Macdonell, in much part rests at the feet of Grayson – who headed to the north-east in September after eight years in charge of Essex.
“With Paul coming in and under his training regime, it’s done a lot to make me more consistent,” said Macdonell. “The structure at Durham is definitely a lot better in general now.
“He has been very helpful in letting me understand my game and adapting to different situations – looking into the little things that make up the way I play. That’s just come from his knowledge of the game.
“In the first-class games I made the decision to hit the ball on the floor because the situation would be to save the game, and airing it is the easiest way to get out.
“In the university stuff it is about trying to control the game, reacting to a bowler you feel may bog you down or one that you can get on top of. I’ve done a lot of work on my sweeping too.”
It is all the more impressive considering that the allrounder had been forced to swap seam for spin after the toil of bowling pace wreaked havoc on his body.
That shift has been eased by the presence of West Indian spinner Breese – who took 356 wickets all told for Durham – and despite his form with the bat, Macdonell is not taking his new craft lightly.
“At the moment the batting side of things is suiting my game more, but that’s partly because of injury,” he admitted. “I was a seam bowler but I started bowling off-spin six months ago through Paul and Gareth Breese.
“I’ve not got the consistency I’d like at the moment but I think in time I could be as good with that as I am with my batting.
“I had a couple of stress fractures in my back when I was younger and we had injuries at the university last year too, which meant I was bowling a lot more. I ended up having more problems but since taking up spin, I haven’t had one.”
Macdonell is in his second year at Durham studying psychology, though that could be put on hold depending on what lies in store this summer.
He added: “There have been a few counties talking to me about playing some second-team cricket stuff, including Northants.
“University has definitely helped me feel like I can go on to play professional cricket – playing against the firstclass counties, you realise you are good enough to do it.”