Yorkshire CCC rookie Harry Duke in safe hands with former England wicketkeeper Chris Read

As an out-and-out keeper, Read was one of the best that English cricket has seen, a wonderfully tidy, supple and dexterous performer who could count himself unlucky to have played only 15 Test matches.

He was not too ropy as a batsman either, averaging close to 40 in a career of 349 first-class games, with 26 centuries to his credit.

Small wonder that Harry Duke, the young Yorkshire wicketkeeper, has been taking the chance to tap into his brains as he embarks on a career which he hopes will be every bit as impressive.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Duke revealed that he has been working with the 44-year-old Read, who retired from professional cricket in 2017 and is now director of cricket at Repton School in Derbyshire.

“I’ve been working with Chris Read for the past month or so,” said Duke, a 20-year-old wicketkeeper and batsman of high promise. “I’ve been down to see him about three or four times, I think, and he’s been absolutely brilliant to work with.

“He’s just a really calm bloke and he’s taken my keeping back to basics, helping me to better get into the rhythm of the game, that sort of thing.

“It’s something I tried to put into practice in the one-day comp (the Royal London Cup) and it’s been great to bounce a few ideas off him.”

Duke experienced some challenging times behind the stumps in red-ball cricket earlier in the season and lost his place in the County Championship team.

His attitude to the setback was excellent – he knuckled down hard and did well for the seconds – and he kept nicely in the Royal London Cup, with Jonny Tattersall, his Championship replacement, focusing on captaincy duties.

How that situation plays out will be interesting (Tattersall is now the red-ball captain as well), but Duke is philosophical ahead of the Championship run-in, with Yorkshire facing four more games.

“I’m trying my best to get back in the Championship side and I’ve just got to focus on being as consistent as I can be,” he said. “It’s been a testing period, but I’ve sort of got to that position where you know what, whatever happens it will happen.

“It was tough (losing my Championship place), but dropping back into the second team we’ve got (coaches) Tom Smith and Tim Boon, who have created such a good environment, and I’ve been able to go back and work at my game and the areas I need to get better at.”

Rare is the young player who does not get dropped at some stage and Duke has a sensible head on his shoulders. He has also received plenty of encouragement from his team-mates, who know what a splendid prospect he is.

“I’ve had some good conversations with senior players around the club who’ve said that they’ve all pretty much had time out at certain times, so it’s not always a bad thing,” said Duke. “Hopefully I’ll go back in at some point better for the experience and go back in a better player.

“There are things in my game overall that I need to get better at – my scoring options in red-ball cricket is an area I’ve looked at, and I’ve tried to apply that in the second team which gave me quite a bit of confidence going into the one-day comp. Working with Boony every day in the twos has been nice, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Duke hit the ground running in the one-day tournament, scoring 111 – his second List A hundred – in the opening game against Northamptonshire in York.

He also made 87 against Glamorgan in Cardiff and 85 against Kent in Canterbury, forming a fine opening partnership with Will Fraine, who contributed a century, a half-century and two further scores of 40 or more.

The pair shared two three-figure stands – 209 in the Northamptonshire match and 118 in the Kent fixture, in addition to stands of 66 at home to Lancashire and 58 in the Glamorgan game.

They complement each other well, with Fraine’s power and Duke’s touch, albeit both men can interchange those qualities, giving Yorkshire some strong platforms.

“I’ve enjoyed opening with Frainey,” said Duke. “It’s been good fun. Last year we developed quite a nice partnership and we bounced off each other again this time around.

“It was nice to contribute in a couple of games and to be back around the lads again. The lads put in a great shift considering that we had a number of players away at The Hundred, and it was a great learning curve for me personally.”