Will Jefferson interview - Part One

Leicestershire opener Will Jefferson has wasted little time in getting to know his new surroundings at Grace Road.

Rather than spending his winter in a warmer climate as is the tradition in county cricket, the 30-year-old decided to stay in the UK and work hard with his new coaches and teammates.

That commitment will have been music to the ears of Leicestershire Senior Coach Tim Boon, who had a major impact in the signing of the former Essex and Notts man after he chose to leave Trent Bridge.

Jefferson and Boon go back a long way and the batsman said it was a welcome call from County’s Senior Coach that paved the way for a move to Grace Road.

He has settled in really quickly, enjoyed his time at the Club so far and has relished the opportunity to get stuck in.

“It’s been brilliant. I have really enjoyed everything we’ve done,” said Jefferson. “Tim Boon is someone I’ve known for quite a long time.

“We have always chatted whenever I have played against Leicestershire in the past and that was a big reason for me to come here. It was what he set out to me in both my game and the team’s development over the coming years that got me really excited - and that’s why I am here.

“I was coached by Tim a long time ago now, for Norfolk under-19s when I was 17. He had recently retired and was going into coaching and I was just starting out and he’s someone I’ve always enjoyed chatting with.

“So when the call came through from him when he learnt that I was leaving Notts, he really did tick a lot of boxes as to where I want to go with my career. So far, it is exactly how I expected and wanted it to be.”

The chance to work with Boon again is clearly a huge motivation for Jefferson. Along with that, the appeal of a fresh challenge and the chance to have a major influence as a senior player made Leicestershire the club he wanted to join.

He said: “I see Tim very much as a coach moving forward. He is coming into potentially his best years and I am confident that will reflect on the team’s performances and results.

“To be the team analyst in a successful England team in as big a series as the Ashes in 2005 is excellent. We should realise how lucky we are. Also, he was an opening batsman and batting coaching is his forte, and opening the batting is mine so it’s very exciting times.

“Leicestershire was always very appealing for the development they have put into their youth structure recently. The systems that they have in place from the juniors right through the age groups to the Academy have been very clearly set out.

“It is something that I am very big on; producing English cricketers and English talent and that is why I am here as maybe opposed to other clubs.

“I want them to lean on me for my experience and know-how on cricket, fitness and other things related. I am very excited to be at a club where I can put in my own performances, but also start winning things as a team as well.”

Jefferson speaks with an obvious passion for the game and he has clearly enjoyed the new environment at Grace Road.

“November and December were really good, fun months of training,” he said. “There was a lot of technical work and very much basic groundwork for the coming season and years. It also gave me lots of time to settle in.

“The quality of new and different challenges we were presented every day really tested our mettle and kept us honest on a daily basis.

“It is as close as I have felt to the environment that Peter Moores and Andy Flower created with the preparation for my England A tour three winters ago. From that point of view it has been elite level training and preparation on all fronts.

“Training has also given me time to get to know the younger guys quite well and to get to know the coaching staff as well. It is why I have chosen to stay here over the winter rather than disappearing off to foreign climes.

“Then we’ve been full on since January 4 with fitness training and so on. I feel very fit, very healthy and very excited so it’s all good.”

The signing of Jefferson has been a real coup for the Club, who were on the lookout for senior players to compliment the young talent at Leicestershire.

The player is looking forward to being a part of shaping the future here as well as putting in his own performances and he says that all bodes well for the 2010 campaign.

“I think the fact that Leicestershire have attracted good senior players to come in shows what a good job that Tim (Boon, Senior Coach), David Smith (Chief Executive), Phil Whitticase (Head Coach), and all of the coaches and backroom staff are doing,” he said.

“There is a real feel-good factor here. You could probably say that at every cricket club during the winter, but it is genuinely exciting to see the commitment and work ethic that will stand the team in good stead for difficult situations that we will have to contend with this summer.

“The quality and intensity of the work has been very thorough and the hunger for pulling in results next season is already evident.

“The fact that James and other guys have committed their future to Leicestershire for a few years is good for the Club also.

“The Club would like to be seen as one who can keep their best young players and get success through that. That is the driving force and will give both us as players and the management the most reward

“Our job in the next two or three years will be to have success. If we can have that, it will then attract two or three senior guys from the outside who will look at it and think ‘I want to be a part of that’. These are exciting times.”

* In the second part of this interview, Will reflects on his time in the game so far.