WORCESTERSHIRE assistant coach Matt Mason has stressed the importance of players “taking charge of their own careers” and of developing “self-sufficient cricketers” at New Road.

Mason, who is also the County’s bowling coach, says he got to the stage in his playing career as a paceman where he almost did not need a coach.

He hopes the current squad will eventually follow the same path as they become more experienced.

The Australian believes it is crucial players learn to deal with problems and challenges thrown up out in the middle.

Mason said: “I want them to start taking charge of their own careers, their own performance and their own training so they don’t have to be spoon-fed by us coaches.

“They need to start understanding the game more themselves. They spend most of their time on the field without us and if we spoon-feed them too much, they will never think for themselves.

“We want thinking cricketers, self-sufficient cricketers — and that is what we are trying to breed.”

Mason, who played for the County for a decade, added: “At some point, you get to a level where you can say you almost don’t need your coach.

“I got to that level definitely and so did Richo (Allan Richardson). That comes with experience.

“If you are out in the field and things go wrong, you’ve got to have that ability to recognise it and know how to fix it when you are under pressure. You can’t just run off the field for an over, speak to your coach and expect him to have all the answers.

“The younger we can get these guys to think for themselves, drive their own training, set their own standards and maintain that, then the better this place will be.

“That’s where we are getting to with these young guys.”