Jack Shutt is hopeful that the 2018 season will bring his first team debut for Yorkshire CCC, something he never dreamt was possible as a cricket-mad pupil at Kirk Balk School.
The 20-year-old offspinner from Elsecar starred for Yorkshire's second team last season, winning their Performance of the Year award for taking four wickets in a cup final, and travelled with the first team squad to several games but did not make his debut. It has been a rapid rise for Shutt who was not in the Yorkshire age group teams until he was 16.
He said: "I definitely didn't think I would be a professional cricketer when I was 12, 13 or 14. It wasn't even in my mind because I wasn't good enough for the Yorkshire age group teams.
"It's a dream come true to be in this position and now I just want to make the most of it. I think I've been helped by having a big growth spurt when I was 16 and also by playing men's cricket week in, week out for Elsecar.
"I played for the Elsecar second team when I was 13 then the first team when I was 15. It's a really good club for any young player and they helped me a lot."
Shutt still lives in Elsecar but has left the South Yorkshire Championship club this winter to play at a higher level with Doncaster Town. He is also expected to start the season in the Yorkshire second team but, with England international Adil Rashid only playing one-day cricket, he is one of several spinners in the running to fill that gap in the County Championship in the future.
"I am really looking forward to this season. My aim is to play for the first team and it's what I've wanted since I was a little kid. But I know that everyone else at the club wants the same and there is a lot of competition. I am just focusing on performing well for the second team, with wickets and runs, and hopefully that will lead to more opportunities."
One of the other spinners at Headingley is Shutt's fellow Barnsley man Azeem Rafiq who has been involved with the first team since 2009. Shutt said: "Azeem is really good to work with. If he is bowling with me in the nets, or just watching me, he will always give me some encouragement or technical advice."
