Tom Hartley is ready to seize the moment again - it’s become something of a habit for him.
Having made his professional debut just two years ago on Monday, the Ormskirk slow left-armer is now one of the first names on the team sheet for Lancashire in the short forms.
He made history in the Hundred last year, bowling the first ball and taking the first wicket in the men’s competition for Manchester Originals.
The team finished a disappointing seventh, but Hartley was a bright spot. Only five bowlers - England leggies Matt Parkinson and Adil Rashid, and seamers Brad Wheal, Benny Howell and Adam Milne - finished the tournament with more wickets at a better average and strike rate.
And with the 2022 Hundred starting next week, he can’t wait to get going again.
He said: “As one of the few spinners in our team that bowls in the power play, I think it's a role I've started to get better at.
“Obviously, the more I do it, the more I’m able to read the game better.
“If that makes me more valuable to the team, then it's fine by me and I'll carry on doing it.”
Standing 6’4”, Hartley gives the batters more to think about than the average finger spinner. In the white ball game, this translates into dots and singles where they need boundaries.
He added: “When people are facing me in the power play, they’re trying to smack me, so with my height and the ball still fairly hard, I can get some good bounce out of the wickets.
“And if I can get that, I can bring top edges or mishits which hopefully will get caught.
“I’m not like a normal spinner coming from a much lower height, so hopefully that extra bounce can bring me a few more wickets and be a bit trickier to play.”
Hundred matches go on a player’s T20 stats - the overs are just one ball shorter - so next Friday’s meeting with the Northern Superchargers will be Hartley's 50th professional outing in the format.
At just 23, he’s got a lot of experience under his belt. Some of it - like the chaotic finish to the T20 Blast finals day, which saw Hartley at the crease as Hampshire wrapped up an unlikely win - isn’t especially positive.
“Needing a run a ball, you back yourself,” he said.
“But that's what comes with the pressure of a final. It’s not as easy as it looks when everything’s on the line.
“But stuff happens, and you don't get it right all the time. So I think we just have to leave it at that - and we'll make sure we're there next year as well.
“I was lucky to make my debut when I was 21, and now having almost 50 games is a great asset.
“Already at my age, I’ve got a lot to fall back on - I still don't get it right every time but the more I play, the more match knowledge I'm going to build up.
“Hopefully that should just progress me even further.”
A stint in the Abu Dhabi T10 last winter saw Hartley play three games for the Bangla Tigers, taking four wickets in five overs which cost just 8.6 runs each.
In doing so, he became the first homegrown Love Lane Liverpool Competition graduate to earn a spot in an overseas franchise - hopefully, the next side to snap him up will trust him with the ball a bit more.
That could come this winter in Australia’s Big Bash T20 tournament - Hartley is one of 70 English players to have made themselves available.
He said: “It depends what the teams in Australia are looking for.
“But if I can put a good tournament in, I’d like to think I could get a look in.
“Australia's a great place to spend a couple months in the winter so I'd be over the moon if that happened.”
But for now, his focus is entirely on the matter at hand - the second edition of a tournament which may never shake off the controversy surrounding its inception, but which nonetheless pits the best against the best, on free-to-air TV.
This year will see greater overseas availability owing to the lack of Covid restrictions. Hartley will be joined by West Indian T20 superstar Andre Russell, Sri Lankan mystery spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and Aussies Sean Abbott and Ashton Turner, along with England’s Jos Buttler, Ollie Robinson and Phil Salt.
He said: “I had such a good time last year, it was a good laugh and I enjoyed the company of all the lads and the coaches.
“So I’m really looking forward to it again this year, and it should be even better.”
- Rainford host Dumbleton on Sunday in the semi-final of the Voneus Village Cup – with a Lord’s final for the winner. 1pm start.
