WORCESTERSHIRE batting coach Kevin Sharp is confident Tom Fell will bounce back from this season’s challenges and said “He will be wiser and stronger for the experience”.

Sharp will be working with all the batsmen during this close season including Fell who is staying in this country after a couple of winters playing grade cricket in Australia.

Fell showed his class and quality when scoring 1,000 runs in Division One of the County Championship in 2015 before his well-documented and ultimately successful battle against cancer.

He did not repeat that previous form during 2017 but Sharp has no doubt Fell’s ability and talent will resurface.

He said: “Tom is still young. For me, in many respects in my experiences as a batting coach, sometimes on average players don’t really reach maturity until 25-26.

“You will go through all sorts of ups and downs up until then.

“For all the skill and ability Tom has got, yes he has struggled this year, but it is all part of your growth and development and finding ways of managing difficult situations.

“It has gone on for a while and it has been a battle for him but he will bounce back.

“A few weeks now away from the game will just refresh him a bit and we will start again in January and will work hard.”

Sharp saw Fell hit three centuries in his joint role as second XI coach.

He said: “He will be back. He is a fine player with an awful amount of talent and you don’t lose that overnight.

“It doesn’t go like that but people’s growth and development work in different ways.

“He has been challenged and tested but he will bounce back and be wiser and stronger for the experience.

“It is not that long ago he got 1,000 runs in Division One.”