Will Jefferson interview - Part Two

Will Jefferson said he will draw on all of his past experiences to ensure he is extremely well prepared for his time at Leicestershire.

County’s new signing, who started in university cricket before moving to Essex and Nottinghamshire, has ten years of professional experience under his belt.

Jefferson represented both Durham UCCE and British Universities throughout his academic life and then moved to Chelmsford in 2000.

The days at Essex still hold fond memories for the opener, who was part of an extremely talented side including current England Team Director Andy Flower.

He was also coached by Graham Gooch, who has been helping Flower prepare England’s batsmen in the current test series in South Africa.

Jefferson was awarded his Essex county cap on the last day of the 2002 season, having made an unbeaten 165 against Notts in a huge run chase to secure the title.

The knock not only secured Essex’s status as champions and therefore clinched promotion to Division One, it also must have made a lasting impression on his opponents as he joined them in 2007.

“I really enjoyed my time at Essex,” he said. “I made plenty of good friends. There were a lot of good coaches and very talented players at the club.

“For example, players like Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara and Ryan ten Doeschate have developed and made excellent progress while James Foster continues to be exceptional in his work.

“Graham Gooch had a huge influence on my career and I played in the same team as Andy Flower for five years. I am still in touch with Andy.

“Because of my knowledge of Andy Flower, when they appointed him I knew they had the right man straightaway. The way he has connected with Andrew Strauss has provided the backbone for where they are taking the test team.

“That’s why I am so pleased about working with Tim Boon. The potential to go from a working relationship to a successful working relationship is an exciting one.”

Although leaving Essex must have been a tough call for Jefferson, he feels it was the right decision.

The opener seems the sort of character to push himself. So, rather than have a one-county career, he was happy to pursue a new challenge at Nottinghamshire.

His time at Trent Bridge was not as successful as he would have hoped but it certainly wasn’t for the lack of trying. And, he thinks that the experience has put him in a good position to move his career forwards.

Jefferson said: “Although I left good friends behind at Essex, I look back on it and am glad that I didn’t spend my whole career there. I have always been one to seek out new challenges and going to Notts was a big move on me.

“I look back and I probably learnt more from my failure than I did my success. Through my inconsistencies there, it bodes well for the future that I learnt from them.

“I had a lot of success at Essex and although it wasn’t as successful at Notts, I feel that I am in a great position to move forward.

“In reflecting on my time at Notts – which I think is important – I can see that they’re a very, very good cricket club.

“They have come second in the Championship in the last two years, have signed very good quality players and their test match status means they have a bit more money than other clubs which helps. But they are a very special club.

“I moved to Notts because I liked Trent Bridge. I played there for Essex and scored three hundreds on the ground in one year. But I am ready to move on now, to seek new challenges and finish my career on a real high.”

Jefferson’s desire to progress and improve is certainly impressive. He wants to stamp his mark on the Leicestershire team as an opener and wants to use his experience to lead from the front.

“At Notts last year I batted in the middle-order in one-day games and I think that was because Mick Newell felt that I fitted in better there in his team,” he said.

“But I had played for nine years as an opener so that was a new challenge and I came through it and learnt from it. But I am very keen to open the batting and Tim knows that.

“There will be competition for places from people like Matthew Boyce and Greg Smith but that challenge will spur us all on. It is healthy to have that competition.

"But I want to lead from the front, be the number one batsman and score heavily from that position.”

As well as playing for university sides and county clubs, Jefferson also has international experience following an England A tour to Bangladesh in 2007. He also played for England Lions in the summer of 2007 and enjoyed those games immensely.

The batsman still has ambitions of playing for his country and feels a good start to his career at Leicestershire could rekindle those aspirations.

He said: “I had an England A tour a couple of years ago and I had some success on that. I have obviously been out of the picture recently but I know that if I can have a couple of good months then my name will be right back up there in lights.

“I am very keen on representing the Lions again in the near future and I am very keen in being involved in the ECB’s thinking for the next step up.”

Talking of England Lions, Jefferson is thrilled to hear new colleague James Taylor got the call-up for the current tour to UAE.

Although Jefferson has not seen a great deal of Taylor in practice as he has been on the England Performance Programme, he remembers him from the past and has heard nothing but positive talk about the youngster.

“I am delighted to hear James has got the Lions call-up,” he said. “I saw him at Loughborough a couple of years ago and he is just a very likeable guy. There is something about him – you can tell that straightaway.

“The fact that he pays such attention to detail in every part of his life - be it his fitness, his diet and his training - is impressive. I like the way he conducts himself, not just with his cricket but with everything else as well.

“I heard all about the extra yards he put in with his batting and training last winter from one of his old coaches and mentor Steve Schofield, a P.E. teacher at Maidwell Hall down in Northamptonshire.

“To be choosing to run the cross country with the 12 and 13 year old boys demonstrates the dedication required to reach the top on your profession, as well as giving something back to people and places that have had a major influence in his life.

“I spoke to a couple of guys who played with him last season and they said that he was shattered for the last month.

“But the county cricket season does that to you, it’s very hard work. But if you’re having success and scoring runs then you forget about your niggles, injuries and aching limbs because you get the rewards at the end.

“For him to have gone to India, then South Africa, and now the UAE, he has got his just desserts. He has worked really hard and I am confident he will do well for the Lions.

“He did a lot of work with Tim last winter. I think he was stripped down to his bare bones in terms of technique and he obviously listened a lot and it’s very exciting that I’ll be working with him.

“There is a running joke about the two of us batting together – but we are confident that we will be grabbing the headlines for our run-scoring rather than our respective heights!”

* In the third and final part of the interview, Will talks about his new colleagues and speaks about his hopes for the future.