Maturing Tom Kohler-Cadmore grateful for Yorkshire CCC support network

The batsman said that the backing he had received from the club had been “awesome” following his much-publicised involvement in a WhatsApp group that exchanged messages about women and so-called conquests.

Kohler-Cadmore and his ex-Worcestershire team-mate Joe Clarke were part of a WhatsApp group in 2017 that came to light during the rape trial earlier this year of another former Worcestershire player Alex Hepburn.

Although there was no suggestion that Kohler-Cadmore and Clarke were guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, they were each fined £2,000 in July by the England and Wales Cricket Board for bringing the game into disrepute having earlier been stood down from an England Lions tour.

Kohler-Cadmore, 25, deeply regrets his involvement in the WhatsApp episode and has responded with suitable contrition and maturity.

He has been a model professional this year on-and-off the field, his magnificent, unbeaten 165 in the ongoing game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston lifting him to 1,004 first-class runs for the summer to go with 435 in the T20 Blast and 290 in the Royal London Cup.

A humble man who judges himself by the number of match-winning contributions that he makes as opposed to the weight of runs that he scores, Kohler-Cadmore has got his career moving again in the right direction with international recognition perhaps not far away.

Typically, though, he is quick to praise Yorkshire at the end of a summer that cannot have been easy for him personally and in which he has fully rewarded their help and support.

“The club has been awesome and supported me through everything,” he said yesterday.

“I’ve just tried to stick to what I need to do on the field and I’ve had that support that’s allowed me to go out there with not too much on my mind at any point, and when I’ve needed support there’s been someone to talk to.

“I’ve tried, in the best kind of way, to embrace the situation. Yes, I had it all over my head, it is what it is and there’s nothing I can do.

“I can’t hide from it. It’s all there, it’s in the newspapers, it’s on the internet. There’s no point in my shying away from the situation.

“I made a mistake when I was younger. I was in a WhatsApp group that obviously wasn’t in great taste. It was a silly, childish group between three friends.

“All I can do is learn from it and go forward. That’s the way I’ve tried to look at it all.”

A second consecutive washed-out day at Edgbaston denied Kohler-Cadmore the chance to continue his fine innings, with the outfield still soaked after Tuesday’s rain, but drier weather is forecast for today, the last day of the season.

“It’s nice to finish off with a big score, but I’d also like to have been doing this earlier on in the year and kind of setting that mark a bit earlier,” he said.

“I just need to make sure that next year I kick on from this and put in big performances early doors.

“The season’s gone okay for me but I try not to look at individual performances as such.

“I try and see how many games I contribute to a winning side, or a key contribution that draws a game, or something like that, but it’s nice to be able to reward continued selection.”

Kohler-Cadmore has shown this year that he is a man for all formats, red-ball or white, in a challenging campaign for the team in general.

Yorkshire have impressed at times in the Championship but less so in white-ball, having failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the T20 and One-Day Cup.

“Team-wise, we’d obviously like to be getting into the knockout stages of the white-ball competitions,” he added.

“But I think in red-ball this year we’ve actually had a good year overall.

“Up until two weeks ago, we could still have won the Championship.

“The last two weeks have been frustrating, with a couple of poor results, but hopefully we can finish our season on a high.”