Josh de Caires: Michael Atherton's son on following in his father's footsteps.

When a young university student hits a hundred facing the regional side, at least a few eyebrows are raised.


When that lady is the son of a former England captain, the country of cricket recognizes it.

Gossip is rampant. Social media.
A month ago, 18-year-old Josh de Caires - the child of previous Britain striker Michael Atherton - hit 118 in Yorkshire's Leeds-Bradford Universitie. A game that likes nothing but a certain passion was given its latest volume.

"Someone asked me if I hit like him," De Caires told BBC Sport. "I couldn't tell you about my life. I've never seen him beat me!

"From what I've seen he just blocks out stupidity, which is very similar to me."

De Caires, who was conceived eight months after Atherton's last Test, confronted 292 balls at Headingley.
The powerful Yorkshire attack, while building resilience in the pre-season game, was interrupted for six hours. Comparisons with a father who set his course in the 1990's and in the hearts of the nation were obvious.

"We're both a little stubborn," De Caires said. "That would be the only thing I could find in him.

"I did not watch his many hours and thought 'I will be myself'.

"Maybe I'm out of date. I'm not a big guy so I don't tie the ball in the park.

"I like to think I'm a little more flexible than 290 balls all the time. We'll wait and see, I think."

De Caires has always been measured. Like Atherton, he is a striking genius with a sound mind. He is strong in his pockets and in cutting and pulling.

His good entry may have been slow but he pointed to a place in the Middlesex team in all formats.

At nine years old De Caires represented the youth teams in the region and at the age of 15 he made his second XI appearance. Last year they signed him for three years, which is his first professional contract.

"Perhaps individuals take a gander at you in an unexpected way, figuring you ought to have the option to improve on the grounds that your father was great, however I've never heard that" De Caires said.

"I have never felt so pressured by others, and I have pushed myself hard enough.

"I can not speak for him, but he seems to have made a conscious effort to avoid complicating me in any way.

"I enjoyed sea cricket and backyard cricket but he was left out of the way too much.


"I just picked up cricket because I enjoy watching it and I enjoy playing it."

There is never a time when De Caires is reluctant to talk about his father. He speaks well, answering deeply every question that comes to him. He jokes that "freezing" temperatures during a recent game in Leeds "were the biggest cricketing north".

Even a snow bath during the interview - we meet a few hundred meters from where the students live - does not dampen his enthusiasm.De Caires is the name of his mother's girlfriend - his mother, Isabelle, is a granddaughter of Frank de Caires, who played three Tests for the West Indies in the 1930's.

It has been speculated that De Caires wanted to avoid any pressure on Atherton's name, but in reality it is a very straightforward story.

"I took my mother's name at birth," she said. "I have no clue and I never asked my parents why.

"I've always been happy with it and I've never been worried enough to ask."

Like Atherton, who studied history at Cambridge University, De Caires chose to continue his education rather than throw himself into cricket full time at first.

"Actually that's one of the things he forced me to do - not to seek the idea of ​​cricket. Extend your mind, get a degree, get interests elsewhere and that will help your cricket," said De Caires, who admits he still loves "I can't cook".

Playing for England is a long-term dream, but now a degree in economics is a major problem and is aimed at regular regional cricket.

"Anyone in the same position can say that England is the ultimate goal," De Caires said.

"There is a very long way ahead of that and a very long way before I got involved in Middlesex in all three categories.

"It is incredible to have something to return to and not be totally blown away on the off chance that I don't do well in cricket. 
That genuinely helps me with dialing down the warmth. 

"While I'm driven and I need to do well in my work, it's not all that matters and I end everything in the event that I don't."
Three days after the Yorkshire friendly, Leeds-Bradford faced a Warwickshire team that included England opener England winners Dom Sibley and Tim Bresnan.

De Caires made 30 before he could "call the ball in the ring".

"That's a game," he said.

Against Yorkshire he shared the 270 stand with opener Taylor Cornall, who may have been very attractive to his 142 one day.

"It was really funny," De Caires said. "Taylor, who got a lot of runs at a better level than me, was mentioned on Twitter and someone made a mistake with his name.

"There was me who got a few runs at a very low speed and I was on BBC News and all that."

Apart from the work being done, the two were able to stay surprisingly comfortable.

"Taylor was attempting to risk me of Obligation and was extremely baffled when I revealed to him I hadn't watched it yet," De Caires said. 

"I began one arrangement that evening and now I have a troublesome way, which may not be useful for my degree.

"When we talked about cricket we used to love each other non-breaking in front of the cricketers - it made it count and really tough."

Those last words - "stubborn" and "make it count" - sound familiar ...

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