Tom Kohler-Cadmore's winter of opportunity

SAM DALLING: After impressing during the Abu Dhabi T10, the Yorkshire batsman has earned a Pakistan Super League call-up as a replacement for Liam Livingstone

A 40-minute chat with Tom Kohler-Cadmore is ample time to cover a wide range of topics: Peshawar Zalmi’s new recruit is as eloquent off the field as he is elegant at the crease.

And there is plenty to talk about. Already in 2021, he has starred in the Abu Dhabi T10, his 206 runs for Pune Devils blitzed at a strike rate that would make bowlers weep.

Now, with Liam Livingstone withdrawing on England duty, he will compete for the Pakistan Super League title, before returning home.

The next few months will see him represent both Yorkshire and Northern Superchargers, all while juggling his fledgling business commitments. He and his brother will soon secure their first development property, and the duo’s latest entrepreneurial endeavours has seen them begin a customised helmet company.

Wherever the conversation meander though, two themes punctuate the discussion. The first is Kohler-Cadmore’s hunger for opportunity. He utters that word a dozen times in a couple of minutes. He wants a chance to prove his worth, and has no qualms with how they come about.

“Me and my agent, Phil Weston, were speaking about the winter after I didn’t get picked up in T10 draft. We talked about a trying to get a replacement opportunity, and thankfully for me one of them did for the Pune Devils. All I said was that I wanted an opportunity to show people what I can do. It would have been frustrating to have run drinks but thankfully they gave me the opportunity to open the batting. It was nice to be able to repay the faith they showed in me.

“I said the same to him about the PSL: ‘I don’t care how, but if you can just get me there.’ I wanted the opportunity to show the PSL what I can do. If you are playing in these competitions and doing well the rest of your cricket takes care of itself. It is going to be a massive learning experience. Playing in the PSL, the IPL, the Big Bash is as close as you can get to international cricket without getting international recognition.”

^{Kohler-Cadmore began 2021 with a successful stint in the Abu Dhabi T10 League}

Then comes gratitude. There is no sense of entitlement from the 26-year-old. Openings must be earned and then taken. And if it does not work out? Well, that is okay too.

“I have faith that I will get to where I want to get in cricket but if I don’t then it just wasn’t meant to be,” he explains. “I am thankful for the opportunities that I do get and not looking too far ahead saying ‘I want this, I want that’. Because actually I am doing ok and enjoying my cricket.

“If I am not very good and don’t score a run so be it: I can live with that because I have had the opportunity. Cricket has allowed me to travel the world and I am lucky enough to get paid to do it. I don’t want to take anything for granted and want to enjoy the journey while I am on it. I am very lucky to be able to do what I love doing during the pandemic.”

Kohler-Cadmore is speaking from his hotel room, where he has spent three days quarantining. His previous call was an anti-corruption meeting attended by every member of all six squads. “Carnage,” as he puts it. Reassuringly, elite sport is not immune from the same Wi-Fi and mute button issues that plague office life. “Whenever I go on a Zoom meeting, I literally log on and mute myself straight away,” he says, chuckling. “You would think people would have learned by now; it has been a year!”

This is not his first visit to the country. In 2018, he was in South Africa on Yorkshire’s pre-season tour when Sarfraz Ahmed messaged inviting him to join Quetta Gladiators for the playoffs. Ahmed – then Pakistan captain – had been impressed by his explosive top-order hitting during a brief spell at Headingley in 2017.

Unfortunately, the Gladiators were knocked out immediately by Kohler-Cadmore’s current employers, but the trip made an impression. “It was frustrating to get knocked out after one game but it was nice to get a little taste of how big cricket is in Pakistan. It is mad how welcome they make you feel. I wasn’t really sure what to expect but the level of support was amazing. And it has been exactly the same this time. When the chance came up, I was 100 per cent: ‘I want to go.’”

Grounds will not be full this time, but approval has been given for 20 per cent attendances in both Karachi and Lahore. After a spectator-less English summer, Kohler-Cadmore cannot wait to hear the ripple of applause again.

VISIT THE PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE HUB

“To have crowds in is going to be great - it will be nice to a little bit of noise. Last year was quite strange for Yorkshire. It felt like there was no emotion to the wickets: you just had the bowler and 10 guys. Normally you would have a few thousand at Headingley cheering and it felt like there was a bit more on the games.  It was such a shame – obviously it was completely right – but the games felt a lot different.

“I had taken playing with crowds for granted having done it for so long. You just get used to it. The first time I was here the atmosphere was incredible, and hopefully those 5,000 or 6,000 people will make up for the missing ones!”

Peshawar are looking to add a second title to the one they secured in the tournament’s second edition, and are led by head coach Darren Sammy. Kohler-Cadmore has played with the former West Indies captain in the T10 previously and believes his personality will act like a caffeine-laden fizzy drink.

“He is great fun – I have yet to play with a West Indian who isn’t. The character that they have and the energy that always seem to give is outstanding. It is always nice to be around them because they are just so fun to be with. Hopefully it can rub off on the lads and we can get the energy from Darren to get some wins.”

And their roster is brimming with experience. Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik continue to score heavily despite approaching 40 years of age, while captain Wahab Riaz is the PSL’s leading wicket-taker (76 wickets in 55 games). Ravi Bopara and South Africa star David Miller share almost 800 T20 appearances, and Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has lit up the IPL (Kings XI Punjab), CPL (Jamaica Tallawahs), BPL (Comilla Warriors) and the Big Bash (Brisbane Heat) despite not yet passing his teens.

^{Kohler-Cadmore endured a poor year in the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020}

“Dan Christian said in an interview recently that old guys win tournaments,” Kohler-Cadmore says. “The older heads have that experience to stay calm in run chases; they know what a good score is; they know how to play; they have been there and done it. If I can pick up a couple of things from them to make me learn a bit quicker that will help the team in the long run.

“But it is about learning from everyone. The youngsters might know a young bowler who is new onto the scene better so we have learn with the full squad and making it a squad effort to get to the knock-out stages. Then hopefully we will be in a position to go on and win it.”

The opposition though will be stern the right-hander will have his technique tested by his technique many of the globe’s finest.

Kohler-Cadmore has impressive T20 numbers to learn on – he averages 29.68 in 81 appearances at strike rate of 141.19 with 17 half-centuries and one hundred – but prefers to keep thing simple.

“I am not too bothered who I am facing; everyone bowls a bad ball and equally if they get me out, they get me out,” he explains. “That is cricket, that is sport. I will be trying my best to hit them for six. It is simple really, isn’t it?

“You try to hit them for four and six and try not to get out! I see that as more of a challenge: rather than being: ‘Oh no, I am playing this person’, my mentality is to try and be the one to put my hand up and being the match winner.”

With his short-form career on a steep upward trajectory, Kohler-Cadmore would be forgiven if red-ball cricket became the understudy. But he insists that the longer form remains firmly in focus and he has been working hard to ensure a return to his 2019 form when he scored 1,004 runs at 45.63 after a lean Bob Willis Trophy in 2020.  In particular, he has spent countless hours grooving his defence.

“Last year I kept finding different ways to get out, so it wasn’t a technical issue,” he says. “I have been making sure I am tighter in defence. Hopefully that means I am not getting out as much, which naturally means you are spending more time at the crease and scoring runs. My whole build up has been about controlling my forward defence this winter. Hopefully I will be able to put that into good use at the start of the season with consistent red ball performances for Yorkshire - I know how much it means to the supporters.”

^{Though he is yet to force his way into the international reckoning, he has represented England Lions}

And he also believes his extracurricular interests have unforeseen benefits. “It has been really good fun doing something different to my day-to-day and if anything it has given me more drive in training because I know that I have to make the most of my time.

“I can’t be milling around doing nothing. My time management is much better now: you can get a lot done in a day as long as you are not wasting your time doing non-productive things.”

The natural next step is an international debut. Eoin Morgan’s white ball sides are notoriously tough to break into, but he toured with the Lions in Australia and was part of England’s 55-man training squad last summer. Typically, Kohler-Cadmore is remaining grounded with gratitude again popping up, alongside acceptance of human powerlessness. 

“Hopefully cricket takes me all the way and I can have a long England career. But if I don’t, as long as I have tried my hardest and put all the effort in, I can look back and go ‘well I just wasn’t good enough’ and be happy with having had some great experiences along the way.

“I might be playing the best cricket I have ever played but don’t get picked. There might not be room for me so I take it one game at a time. At the minute I am fully focused on the PSL and winning as many games as I can. When I get back to Yorkshire the same applies, and then again with the Northern Superchargers. I am focusing on the things that I can control.”

Tom and his brother Ben started Elite Lids (elitelids.co.uk) after spotting a gap in the market. Over in Australia helmets bearing the club crest are commonplace, but in the UK they are as rare as loose Jimmy Anderson overs. Working in conjunction Masuri, Tom’s kit sponsor, they are able to supply customised helmets for clubs, schools and universities across the land. They also provide a full range of Masuri equipment. For enquiries please contact info@elitelids.co.uk