Helm bids to steer a course to top after proving net worth
LAST WINTER one of Tom Helm’s main aims for England Lions’ trip to Sri Lanka was to leave the tour “in one piece”, such was the injury-torn start to his career.
His progress since has been such that the Middlesex quick was talked about as a wildcard for England’s Ashes squad. He is now preparing to depart for Australia with the Lions next week.
His fortunes turned around when he was drafted in from the England pace programme for that Sri Lanka tour after impressing as a net bowler for the Lions in the UAE.
“Due to not having bowled much the previous year through injury (four one-day matches), I had every intention of bowling as much as I could throughout the winter,” Helm, 23, told The Cricket Paper. “I guess I did pretty well as a net bowler in front of the right people and ended up getting called onto the full Lions tour.”
Helm impressed in Sri Lanka, playing a ‘Test’ and four ODIs, taking a one-day 5-33 in Colombo, the second-best ever by a Lions bowler.
“It was a great feeling, an incredible day. My first five-for in professional cricket as well.”
It was a major confidence boost for the youngster who came through the Buckinghamshire youth system before joining the Middlesex academy.
“I’d had a couple of tough years through injury and I hadn’t really done a great deal for Middlesex and I felt I owed them a lot and it was nice, although it wasn’t for them, to show people what I could do in Colombo.”
This summer Helm had a run in Middlesex’s 1st XI, which settled him into a rhythm: “I’d had a lot of false starts like playing a few games for the 2nd XI, getting picked for the first team and then getting injured. So, it was just nice to bowl consistently and not really stop bowling.
“It was good to have had a consistent level of bowling, rather than going from not bowling a great deal to bowling huge amounts. It would have been nice to play more, but we’ve got a very strong, competitive squad and I’m grateful for the time out there. Hopefully, I can build next year.”
His county’s faith was rewarded with a maiden first-class five-for in Middlesex’s victory at Edgbaston. He also emerged as the side’s leading T20 bowler, picking up 19 wickets at just 15.89 apiece – including 5-11 against Essex – and successfully defending five off the last over to earn an unlikely win over Sussex in front of a full house at Lord’s.
It’s become his favourite format: “Not because I don’t enjoy the others, but just because I’ve had the most success in T20. I back my skills and I feel confident. You’ve also got to take it with a pinch of salt. One day you can bowl brilliantly and can get absolutely whacked and another day you can feel like you’ve bowled just as well and you get all your rewards.”
Helm’s dreams of playing for his country were encouraged by teammate Toby Roland-Jones’ call-up: “It’s huge. As a bowling unit, we’re all very close. He gets everything he deserves. It’s such a shame he got his injury but he’ll come back from that.”
Despite the plaudits, Helm is determined not to look too far ahead: “It’s obviously flattering, hearing that so-and-so has got you in their wildcard squad, but I’m not naive and I know there’s an awful lot of work before I get there.
“I’m just trying to keep myself fit and do what I do on the pitch and see what happens after that.”
He is looking forward to bowling on hard Australian surfaces: “I’m really excited. I think the pitches will suit me a bit more than perhaps the ones over here because I tend to bowl a bit shorter than I should do in this country and that might help me over there. You’ll learn different skills, play against different people and it’s a great opportunity to do well in front of the right people.”
Attention will then turn to helping Middlesex win promotion: “We’re all gutted that we managed to get ourselves relegated this year, but we make no excuses. We didn’t have a good enough year. But we’ve got a very determined bunch of lads. We want to be back in Division One.”