In my roles with Hampshire, Somerset, Ireland and now Millfield School I have seen a significant number of talented 12 and 13 year old cricketers. There has only ever been 1 player who I predicted would play International cricket from all those promising players.

His name is Jos Buttler.

Jos continued to underline his incredible talent with England's fastest ever ODI hundred.

I watched him play a heap of times for his school and for our County Age Group squad at Somerset. His natural talent was incredible. I was amazed at how a slight 12 year old boy could hit the ball with such brutality and power.

Yet, more impressively was Jos' strategic mind. He plotted each innings and next batting option like a guy who had played 75 ODI's. Jos displayed incredible calmness under pressure. The game seemed to slow down around him before he then injected huge amount of pace and power into proceedings.

Jos also had a hugely supportive, yet realistic family around him. Mum was a tennis coach and saw things in an objective way. I can't underestimate the importance of this kind of family support and the more research I read on this area, the more important it becomes.

But it wasn't all about support.

Jos led his own development, even from a young age. He had a maturity that was rare. We often pinched ourselves in conversations about his development when a 13 year old would make a very adult statement or ask a very mature question.

Jos' performance and characteristics gave me confidence to ask the ECB's Hugh Morris if I could place Jos on the Somerset Academy at the age of 12 rather than the then ECB stipulated minimum age of 13. Hugh is a visionary and made a very sound decision that day!

Development is a rocky road

It was then that Jos and I started to work together with interesting results.

He burst into tears in most of our early sessions because I increased the challenge. For the first time in his development Jos was not in control, was not timing every ball. He was finding it tough. I loved it; he didn't!

Eventually, He began to feel the benefit of the methods and his game came on at an accelerated rate.

Then we had another stand-off.

I asked Jos to start keeping wicket as well as batting. Jos initially was reluctant, didn't want to risk his fingers and we had a number of 'grumpy' sessions.

Over time, Jos saw some merit in what we were asking him to do and he started to keep wicket with a smile on his face.

Or at least a grudging grimace.

These humps were vital to his development and show that success is never a smooth path.

Open Cupboard Wednesdays

"Open Cupboard Wednesday" is a concept where the players lead their own sessions for 30-60 minutes. I open the equipment cupboard and the players went in, came out with some cones, bowling machines, different balls and other kit. They then made up their own drills and practices. It is a great way of developing responsibility and encouraging innovation.

I used to watch Jos and his great mate, Chris Jones (a Somerset CCC top order batter) work together brilliantly.

They would challenge each other to come up with different solutions to different problems. It was inspirational to watch.

Much of their work was done around finding angles and options to score in one day cricket. I would be a fibber if I said that Jos' ramp shots started in those sessions directly, yet I'm confident that the process he went through with 'Jonesy' underpinned his future ability to innovate.

Do you have a very young player who hits the Buttler Talent criteria?

How can you stretch and support them to accelerate their development?

Can you have your own version of Open Cupboard Wednesday?