Tom Kohler-Cadmore has made consistent contributions for Worcestershire this season © Getty Images
Worcestershire have dropped Tom Kohler-Cadmore after he told them he planned to join Yorkshire at the end of the season. ESPNcricinfo understands that Kohler-Cadmore, who is out of contract at the end of the current season, has been omitted from the side to play Sussex in a Championship match starting on Friday.
It currently remains unclear whether he will be included in the Worcestershire side scheduled to play in the semi-final of the Royal London Cup on June 17 – Worcestershire’s first semi-final appearance in any competition in 13 years – or any other games this season. It is understood that neither Yorkshire nor Kohler-Cadmore have made any request (or have any expectation) that he will be released early from his contract.
Kohler-Cadmore is an important player for Worcestershire. Having come through the club’s academy – he was educated from sixth-form level at nearby Malvern College – he has developed into a clean-hitting batsman who scored the fastest century of the English domestic season, off 43 balls, in 2016. Aged just 22, he was a big part of Worcestershire’s plans for the future and the decision to drop him may well be a manifestation of the bitter disappointment Steve Rhodes, the director of cricket, feels at losing a player in whom he had invested such faith and time.
Until going to Malvern, however, Kohler-Cadmore had developed through the Yorkshire system. And it seems the lure of home – and playing with those he grew-up with – has had a strong influence. He had been of interest to several other clubs, including Warwickshire, while Worcestershire are understood to have offered him a new deal.
It may also be relevant that Yorkshire are likely to be one of the host grounds in the new-team T20 competition. As a highly promising white-ball player, Kohler-Cadmore is likely to have one eye on ensuring he is among the lucky few picked to play in an event that may well prove to be lucrative and well-publicised. He might argue that moving to a higher-profile club and rubbing shoulders with more high-profile players might be of benefit.
Worcestershire finished top of the North Group in the Royal London Cup with Kohler-Cadmore making their only century of the campaign to date – a potentially deal-securing innings of 118 against Yorkshire. They have also won all four of their Championship matches this season, with Kohler-Cadmore averaging 48.40 in the campaign to date.
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo