YOUNG GUN

RISHI PATEL
Essex batsman
Rishi Patel, 20, isn’t Don Bradman – but last summer, the Essex pup was the Second XI equivalent, stockpiling runs at a colossal average of 98.33.
And with a place on the MCCU programme at Cambridge in the bag, as well as a first professional contract with the county he joined at seven, Patel shows no sign of stopping there.
“It was a bit of a golden summer for me,” said the former Brentwood School pupil, who spent a formative spell in Melbourne grade cricket in 2017.
“It was really unexpected, frankly, to be up there. I t...