Helm hailed as top prospect after signing Middlesex deal

Fast bowler Tom Helm, who extended his contract with Middlesex this week, has been described by his county boss Angus Fraser as “one of the most exciting young cricketers in the country”.

The 22-year-old signed a new deal on Monday that keeps him at Lord’s until the end of the 2019 season.

Helm, who has been included in the England Lions squad to tour Sri Lanka in February and March, has had a stop-start career due to injury, making only 15 first-team appearances for Middlesex since his debut in September 2013.

He ended up missing the whole of the 2015 campaign due to a stress fracture to a bone in his back, while his 2016 season ended in June when he tore ankle ligaments while fielding on the boundary during a Royal London One-Day Cup match.

Before that setback, his Middlesex colleague Steven Finn had Helm as “the most talented young bowler I’ve ever seen”.

And with the paceman fit again, Middlesex’s managing director of cricket Fraser is looking forward to seeing Helm back in action.

He said: “Tom has had no luck with injuries in the past couple of seasons but he remains one of the most exciting young cricketers in the country. This is why we will continue to support him.

“In the limited cricket he has played we have seen just what he can produce and, obviously, the England Lions management also witnessed it during the training camp in the UAE that Tom was at before Christmas, hence his selection for the Lions tour of Sri Lanka.

“All Tom needs is an injury-free period. When he gets this, his career will move forward very quickly.”