Will Tavare comes with a well-known surname; his uncle Chris played 31 Tests for England in the 1980s and enjoyed a fine career with Kent and Somerset that saw him score almost 25,000 first-class runs. Some of that talent has rubbed off on Will who made his debut for Gloucestershire second XI when he was just 16 and went on to score a century on his County Championship debut, against Hampshire at Bristol in 2014, becoming the eighth Gloucestershire player to do so.

Born and bred in Bristol, Will went to Bristol Grammar School before Loughborough University where he played for the MCCU and made his first-class debut in April 2010 against Kent. It wasn't a memorable debut as he recorded a fifth ball duck and was run out for 11. But 61 against Hampshire showed his ability and he continued to be given opportunities for Gloucestershire seconds while playing for Bristol in the West of England Premier League.

After scoring almost 1000 runs in second XI cricket in 2013, including three centuries, he signed a one-year contract for 2014. An injury created a spot for him in the opening game of the season and his seized his chance. He added further centuries against Essex at Bristol, Derbyshire at Cheltenham and Kent at Canterbury to finish the season with over 1000 first-class runs. He signed a contract until the end of 2017, but a knee injury limited his appearances in 2016.
ESPNcricinfo staff