Sex scandal has changed my life
England hopeful eyes big chance
SUC His Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s determination not to allow external factors to get in the way of his England dream that he has imposed his own coronavirus lockdown. It means that, at a time when the Government is easing restrictions, the Yorkshire batsman has turned back the clock and limited contact with the outside world.
‘I didn’t want to take a risk, even putting myself in a situation where we might have friends round for a barbecue or something, so I decided to go back a couple of weeks to a situation where I don’t do anything other than something that’s a necessity,’ he said.
‘The last thing I would want is to be selected [for England] and then not be able to play because I’ve got the virus. I’d be kicking myself.’
Girlfriend Melissa, a primary school teacher, and housemate Jamie, a salesman who works from home, also vowed to stick to stricter rules at the house they share in Leeds. They made their agreement on June 8, with Kohler-Cadmore set to join England training for 25 white-ball specialists tomorrow.
‘I’m grateful for their support,’ he said. ‘Hopefully this way nothing does come back into the house. An extra couple of weeks, then a couple of weeks at training is not too much sacrifice considering we have been in lockdown for three months.
‘If I’m not good enough, I’m more than happy to never play a game for England. As long as I know I’ve tried everything.’
Kohler-Cadmore, 25, knows only too well how off-field problems can affect a career, having been fined £2,000 by the ECB and suspended 18 months ago along with Nottinghamshire’ s Joe Clarke, after being named in court as members of a WhatsApp group that logged sexual conquests with women.
While neither man was charged with any criminal offence, their former Worcestershire team- mate Alex Hepburn was found guilty of rape at a retrial and jailed for five years last April. He is now appealing against his conviction.
‘The incident last year has changed my perspective on everything,’ Kohler-Cadmore said. ‘The whole situation was horrendous. I won’t shy away from my involvement in it. But the impact it has had on me has made me more determined and driven with my cricket.’
Being told by England Lions coach Andy Flower that he had been withdrawn from a tour of India made it feel like his career was ‘crashing down’, he explained.
The lifting of the ban 11 months ago coincided with a change of mentality, particularly towards his fitness. ‘When I first played, I had the mindset that cricket came first, so any opportunity I had I would be batting,’ he said. ‘Then, when I left training I would go home and relax.
‘Now I have the attitude that when I’m training my batting is the most important thing but there’s always time to find half-an-hour or an hour to do a quick gym session or have a run. It’s something I’m consciously working on and trying to make sure I’m getting fitter. I know the ECB have a certain attitude towards it.’
Indeed, before his England Lions recall for the unbeaten tour of Australia this year, he was aware he had to pass the mandatory fitness test, called a Yo-Yo test, and record a skinfold test score under 70. ‘We were told that if you didn’t get them you would not be going on tour,’ he said. ‘The Yo-Yo has never been much of a worry for me but my skin folds have always been slightly high.’
He registered a career-low 69 on the skin-fold test and dug out his passport. He has been very active in the past 13 weeks too, signing up to an online coding course to build websites and setting up a property company with his brother Ben.
But the real business will start at Headingley tomorrow when he reports for England training. England could use separate squads this summer to cover different formats due to an anticipated fixture congestion — limited- overs games against Pakistan, Ireland and Australia are pencilled in.
That could present a chance for an aggressive top-order batsman, whose 435 runs at an average of 62.14 in last season’s Twenty20 Blast bettered the statistics of players of the ability of Alex Hales, James Vince and Luke Wright.
‘Most of the players in the Test team overlap with the white-ball sides, so normally finding a way in would be a lot tougher,’ KohlerCadmore said. ‘But whether I’m in the squad or not, I feel lucky to be able to start training because every cricketer in the country wants to be bowling or hitting balls.’
‘It’s nice to be in the 55 named so far because it means I’m back in the same environment as the best cricketers in England. And that’s the kind of environment in which I will be able to learn and improve.’