WORCESTERSHIRE batsman Ollie Westbury has used the coronavirus crisis as a chance to start writing.

The opener has interviewed several of his county teammates for his blog and has allowed the Worcester News to use them.

In the first of the series, he writes about his teammate Jack Haynes, fresh from his exploits in the under-19 World Cup for England:

He said: "I’d like to thank Jack Haynes for agreeing to have a very informal conversation with me. We discussed his footballing prowess, his passion for Villa, some of his hobbies and his interests outside of cricket.

"He also talked about what he has been up to this winter with his escapades at the Under 19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa and his first year as a full time professional.

"There is always light entertainment when Jack is around. Weirdly you can’t help but miss his stupidity when he’s not there."

He has spent a lot of time away this winter with England Under 19’s and from what he says this has been a massive learning curve for him.

There is no doubt he is one of the most talented young batters in the country. It has been great to see him come through the ranks of the academy system at New Road over the last few years. However, there is much more to Jack than meets the eye.

Apart from closely following Aston Villa this winter he has also represented England at the Under 19 World Cup in South Africa.

He explained to me that he is much better for the experience of the tour. However, he also said that the team underperformed to their expectations especially given their positive results against India and Bangladesh the previous summer.

He talked of his close relationship with Ben Charlesworth (Gloucester) and Tom Clark (Sussex), both of which he gets on well off the field and continues to keep in touch.

Ollie added: "Haynesy has also taken part in his first winter as a full time professional. He explained that the transition was not as difficult as you would have thought, due to his involvement with the full-time staff whilst he was on Worcester’s academy program.

"He had also already built up good relationships with most of the younger lads due to school cricket and so on. It’s very nice to see him fitting in well with the wider squad.

"He is an intelligent lad that would most likely be studying economics at University if he wasn’t playing cricket for his livelihood. He loves a good puzzle and much to his flat mates disgust he enjoys a jigsaw.

"I personally would describe him as a very easy going and popular member of the squad. His uncanny resemblance to Martin Clunes can often lead to some teasing. All of which he takes firmly in his stride."

To read the full text of the column, head to www.openingpear.com/