Josh Bohannon was Lancashire’s leading run scorer in first class cricket in 2021: but settling is not in his DNA. Bohannon is targeting greater success for both himself and his club, as they look to go one step further in 2022.
In 2021, the Old Trafford outfit finished as runners-up in both red ball formats, The Bob Willis Trophy and County Championship, with Bohannon spearheading their batting line-up throughout the season. In 14 matches, Bohannon amassed 853 runs and picked up two centuries, including a classy 170 against eventual champions Warwickshire, an innings which ran into its second day. Displays such as these saw him win Lancashire’s County Championship Player of the Year Award, as well as a potential call up to the England test squad.
As well as a high-quality red ball campaign, Lancashire also showed promise in white ball matches, reaching the quarter final of the T20 Blast and narrowly missing out on the semi-finals in the One Day Cup. Despite the frustration of finishing the season with no silverware , players and staff are proud of their achievements.
“I think as a club it was very good, given the circumstances that we’ve been in over the last 2 years, with the bubbles and being in lots of hotels”, said Bohannon, as he reflected on last season. “I think from the club’s perspective it was very successful, a lot of young players got experience in first team cricket which they potentially might not have got if the circumstances and The Hundred didn’t allow it.
“We have always set out to win everything, that’s always our goal, and I think that shows the strength of the squad and the club that we have here. I certainly feel we will be pushing for Division 1 this year. We have made a couple of signings which have added some value, and we are always there or thereabouts in the T20 Blast.
“I think when we play our best cricket, we will always have a chance in every competition, but we can’t just take for granted that we have a good side. Ultimately anyone can win on any given day. I think we have to focus a little more in phases of every format, but everyone is aware of that, and everyone is working hard to make sure we get there.”
Over the winter, Bohannon earned his maiden England Lions call up, travelling down under to face an Australia A side, as well as partnering England’s Ashes tour. Despite rain heavily affecting any preparations, Bohannon scored 22 & 51 in a 112-run defeat.
“It was a great experience”, he said. “It was good to work with different coaches, I’ve worked with the same coaches here for a long time, which is great because everyone knows my game, but it is good to get a different opinion from someone who hasn’t seen you play as much. The environment is very different, very intense, but I think that is what you get with international cricket and its certainly something I really enjoyed - particularly being around that group of players and coaches, but mainly being around the international environment.”
The Bolton-born batsman also commented on the challenges he faced while on the tour. “I think everyone sets their own plans of how they think the tour will go, but I think that always changes. If you start with the quarantine, even though we only did 3-day hard quarantine, that was a lot harder than I initially thought it would be.
“The rain was the hardest thing to deal with because you’ve gone to Australia to train in an indoor school for eight days out of six weeks. It doesn’t sound like a lot but when you’re there three or four times a week, back-to-back weeks, it all adds up.”
At the same time as the Lions tour, England’s first team were beaten 4-0 by a rampant Australian side in The Ashes. There have been many calls for new faces to be drafted into the side, with Bohannon seemingly close to a call up.
“It is a little bit [hard to ignore], I don’t think you can turn a blind eye to it. I think it is pretty hard to ignore if you feel you’re pretty close and playing well. Obviously, when you’ve been around that environment and you become mates, it’s sad to see them be down but ultimately that’s part and parcel of international cricket. I hope that I did well enough on the tour and that I can get a chance sometime soon.
“I’ve given myself a 2-year period where I can try and really work on my white ball game, but to play test cricket is still my ultimate goal. I think if I could do that before, hopefully, going into franchise cricket, that would be better for me. You’ve seen what happens with people like Liam Livingstone, with how hectic his winter schedule is, it’s pretty hard for him to work on his red ball cricket.
“Sometimes you can get put into a bracket of being a white ball cricketer, as opposed to a multi-format player. If I could still have the priority of playing test cricket, with the fact that white ball can potentially happen later on in my career, that’s where I see my career going.”
England’s test squad for the tour of the Windies is yet to be announced, with fans expecting to see some fresh faces in the side. While a number of players are within touching distance of the squad, Bohannon is certainly a leading candidate. If he can replicate the form of 2021 in the upcoming season, it would be no surprise to see the 24-year-old in an England shirt sometime soon. England need young lions who are ready to roar on the international stage, showing grit, determination and good temperament. As it happens, a player just like Josh Bohannon.
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