Friendly rivalry with my twin has helped us

Until 2012, Callum Parkinson had no intentions of becoming a spin bowler. He was more focused on firing it down as fast as he could.

But, playing for Lancashire against Notts at U15 level, the expected first-change Parkinson was held back to allow the spinners to profit on a raging turner.

He eventually got a bowl, in the 37th of a 50-over clash, and decided to try spin himself. Four years on, he was taking seven wickets on first-class debut for Derbyshire against Leicestershire.

At first Parkinson was inclined just to land the ball on the pitch – but enjoyed it enough to want a shot at cricket’s rare commodity, left-arm orthodox bowling.

“I was set on being a fast bowler, but, at 5ft 8in, I knew it had a shelf life,” he said.

“It was just about getting it down to the other end at a slower pace but since then I’ve been taking it a lot more seriously. It’s been a lot of hard work. There have been some setbacks along the way which have made the good times sweeter.”

A place on the Lancashire academy was offered him, but he opted for a move to the Midlands, a self-proclaimed “no-brainer” in a bid for more 2nd XI cricket.

It took the teenager away from roots and family. Starting off at Bolton CC, his twin Matt remained at Old Trafford, himself breaking into the County Championship for the first time this season.

And the journey has taken Parkinson, 19, to areas he could not imagine, featuring three times for Derbyshire so far with a tally of ten wickets.

On debut, Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove was his first victim and 4-90 and 3-88 were his match rewards.

Parkinson credits his success to others, particularly skipper Billy Godleman.

“We bowled first and that helped settle down any nerves because I wasn’t able to overthink anything and Billy was great, he brought me on really early and that massively helped,” he said.

“I was lucky because I bowled at Billy a couple of times in the nets and did pretty well, so he had an overinflated opinion of me!”

Twin Matt, however, had been the first on the big stage, debuting for Lancashire and taking a five-wicket haul in his first match.

It’s a feat Callum admits Matt won’t let him forget, but believes the ‘friendly rivalry’ has helped both, saying: “It’s been a healthy competition growing up; we’ve probably both been ahead at different situations and over the past couple of years he’s developed his leg-spin.

“But to both get first-team opportunities has been brilliant, particularly sharing in each other’s successes.

“A few weeks ago I managed to spank him over midwicket for six, but it’s probably the most nervous I’ve been on a cricket field!

“But it was nice to be able to nail one!”

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