Stone: “Yates has a bright future”

Olly Stone believes Rob Yates has the temperament to continue to build his career towards the higher echelons of the game.

The 22-year-old is at the next stage of his development as he is currently with England Lions preparing with the full England squad ahead of the Ashes in Brisbane.

Speaking at the Champions Dinner where Stone collected one of Yates’ three awards, the 28-year-old believes that the exposure to the international environment will add to his impressive 2021 campaign, which saw the opener score 907 first-class runs, with five centuries.

“I would like to see less of his face on the big screen,” Stone joked when he was asked how important he’s been this year. “He’s got a great temperament and he’s shown this year the class he has.

“I said up there (on stage) that you can get second season syndrome where people find you out as there’s a lot more footage about you but the fact he’s gone out there and scored the hundreds he has this year goes to show what a bright future he’s got.

“He’s a strange batsman to bowl to because whether you get him out or he hits you for four you wouldn’t know the difference.

“I guess that’s testament to him and the way he goes about stuff. In the nets, he’s the same as he is out the middle as he doesn’t get ahead of himself.

“I keep reiterating it but it’s the way he is as a character as it’s not all about scoring those pretty runs. There are batsmen out there who score the runs when it’s easy but he scores them when it’s hard.

“He loves to get stuck in and there were times when he faced Broad and Pattinson and they called him everything under the sun. He came off and I said ‘what did they say?’ and he replied ‘I don’t know!’.

“That’s just the way he is. He gets stuck in at the moment and he’s a great player. Hopefully, he can deal with the hype coming his way and if not, he’ll be level headed and work on it.”

Stone knows all about the expectation of representing your country after featuring in three Tests and four ODIs.

The Norfolk native would undoubtedly be accompanying Yates down under if he wasn’t working his way back from a stress fracture in his lower back.

The popular figure – who is now recovering with regular gym and running sessions – is looking forward to returning to bowling as soon as possible.

“It’s going well but there’s going to be little ups and downs,” Stone added. “I’ve had a little bit of neural pain since I’ve had my operation but I’ve got the all-important scan on the 9th December where hopefully I’ll get the all-clear to start bowling.

“At the moment, we’re on track and I’ll try and hit the ground running when April comes around and look to push my name for selection in that first game.”