How all-round great helped shape resurgent Edwards

You don't have to look far for similarities between Jack Edwards and one of Australian cricket's greatest modern allrounders in Shane Watson.

Both strong, hard-hitting and technically sound players dubbed the next-big-thing in Australian cricket in their late teenage years after representing the country at U19 level, the pair had significant pressure placed upon them at a young age.

Watson, now working among other things as a commentator and on the mental aspect of cricket, would be better placed than most to offer Edwards some words of wisdom.

So that's exactly who the 23-year-old sought out in the winter when NSW coach Greg Shipperd announced Watson and fellow former internationals Michael Bevan and Stuart Clark would join the NSW program as coaching consultants.

And in a surprise to few, Edwards walked away with a renewed sense of confidence.

"The one-on-one chats with Shane were fantastic for me on the mental side of the game," he said following a standout start to the domestic summer that has seen him take 15 wickets an average of 13.30 and pass 80 twice in four innings.

"A couple of things that I'd brought into my game at the end of last year I was then able to refine with him, just around bringing the best version of myself out on the field and being competitive and having that competitive drive to win … I took a lot away from those conversations.

"It was also fantastic to just chat with him."

Revealing that Watson was his "childhood hero", Edwards said their off-season conversations extended well beyond the technical aspect of the game.

"(We spoke about) the similarities at the beginning of his career he had with where I'm at and juggling the responsibilities of being an allrounder and managing your body and the weight of expectation you put on yourself and all sorts of things.

"I took a lot away from it and hopefully I can stay in touch with him and keep picking his brain."

Edwards begun this summer having played just three professional matches in the previous 11 months – a result of both injuries and a lack of opportunity – but has hit the ground running in the past month.

Innings of 92 and 87 respectively in the Marsh Cup (against Tasmania) and Marsh Sheffield Shield (against Queensland) have impressed, but it's his returns with the ball that have made fans sit up.

The 195cm allrounder followed a career-best Shield haul of 6-36 against the Bulls last week with 4-38 (also a best) days later against the same opponent with white ball in hand.

"Very happy," Edwards said of his start to the campaign.

"I came into the start of the season pretty confident after a strong pre-season.

"I think the bowling has been especially pleasing – I've worked hard at it for quite a while now and (I'm) starting to see some rewards so really pleased with that.

"When I'm playing confidently with bat or ball it helps the other skill out."

Individually, Edwards couldn't have asked for a better start to the summer, however NSW have won just one out of four matches to date across the four-day and 50-over formats.

It comes after the Blues finished bottom and second-bottom in the Shield and Marsh Cup respectively last season.

Despite being in a strong position to defeat Queensland on both occasions, a failure to finish the task with the ball saw NSW succumb to a draw in their Shield clash and, inexplicably, lose their Marsh Cup encounter courtesy of a competition record 73-run 10th-wicket stand between Gurinder Sandhu and Kane Richardson at North Sydney Oval.

However, Edwards believed the team was on an upward trajectory under the tutelage of coaching great Shipperd.

"It's been disappointing – it's never nice to be around a losing side and we all want to win … we've been in a place to win every game so far and haven't quite got over the line but I think the process is great there.

"I think everyone's passion to represent NSW is as high as ever and try and make amends for what happened last year.

"I think everyone was a little bit embarrassed so yeah, I think everyone's hungry and we're doing a lot of good things so hopefully some wins come soon."

Watson isn't the only experienced head Edwards has sought advice from in recent months, having worked closely with Sydney Sixers and now NSW teammate Jackson Bird on match preparation and wrist position.

"I'm one who likes to pick the brains of lots of different bowlers and coaches and take little bits and try to implement into my game.

"There's been a few guys over the years I've got some tips off and try and implement in my game and I'm starting to see some results for that now."

While a cautious approach is often taken with young allrounders, Edwards said there were "no restrictions" on his bowling output at present.

"If I'm bowling well, I want the ball in my hands all the time."

Sheffield Shield 2023-24 standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Western Australia Men WA	10	5	2	3	0	0	5.53	9.4	47.93
2 Tasmanian Tigers Men TAS	10	5	2	3	0	0	6.06	8.3	47.36
3 NSW Men NSW	10	4	3	3	0	0	6.31	9	42.31
4 Victoria Men VIC	10	4	4	2	0	0	4.74	8.2	38.94
5 South Australia Men SA	10	3	6	1	0	0	5.19	9.3	33.49
6 Queensland Bulls QLD	10	2	6	2	0	0	3.54	8.3	25.84

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points