DON’T you get a little fed up when you’re told that you can’t do this or that because you don’t have enough experience?

But without someone giving you that opportunity you will never get the experience — it’s catch 22.

So when Worcestershire opted to go down the route of youth, partly due to the need to make cuts in their budgets, Damien D’Oliveira’s academy boys knew that this could be their big break.

They had already seen Daryl Mitchell go through the ranks and cement his place in Steve Rhodes’ first team before he was handed the captaincy, while Alexei Kervezee, Ben Cox and Jack Shantry were already making their way in the professional game.

Young batsmen Dave Wheeldon and Jack Manuel were also given a taste of life with the seniors, while quick Chris Russell played a few one-day matches as well.

The route that Worcestershire have gone down over the past couple of seasons, which is also helped by the added financial incentives from the England and Wales Cricket Board for fielding homegrown youngsters, shows that if you’re good enough then you’re old enough.

This year, academy products Matt Pardoe and Neil Pinner have broken through to the first team at New Road and have grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Twenty-year-old left-handed batsman Pardoe has struck half-centuries in consecutive matches against Warwickshire and Yorkshire, while Pinner has also shone with the bat in the three Clydesdale Bank 40 outings.

“It does make me smile seeing the academy boys break into the first team,” academy manager D’Oliveira said.

“We are not a big county with pots of money so this is the route we have had to take.

“You also get financial incentives from the ECB for playing homegrown players and we have to try and maximise our funding.

“But we have got some very talented youngsters and they all deserve their chance with the first team.”

D’Oliveira’s academy boys also gain experience from the senior side by acting as 12th man on matchdays at New Road.

However, the former County batsman believes that the youngsters are missing out on an integral part of their development.

“When I started out all the players would gather in the bar after the day’s play and have a drink and chat,” he said. “I speak to Viv Richards and he would be more than happy to give me his views on how to play the game.

“That doesn’t happen any more and it is a shame, I’m not saying the players should be drinking alcohol at the end of the day’s play, but there is nothing wrong with having a coke or an orange juice and chat.

“It would help these youngsters even more than what we already do, it was invaluable to me when I was growing up and I’m sure that it would be them.”