Worcestershire CCC’s players are stepping up their training programme and work schedule as the countdown continues to the new season.
The squad is back at their Malvern College winter base after a break for the festive season, with less than three months until the 2022 campaign gets underway in early April.
Head Coach Alex Gidman said there would be an emphasis on “competitive nets” to try and replicate the situation batsmen and bowlers face out in the middle.
He said: “The first block of training (before Christmas) has been good, and, as always, our lads worked extremely hard.
“We gave a bit more ownership to the players from a skill perspective before Christmas, and they worked extremely hard in the gym and with their fitness work, and their fitness levels are even higher, which is brilliant.
“Now we are looking forward after Christmas and starting the competitive nets. I’m a big believer in batters versus bowlers, and it’s what they and we do for a living.
“The quicker we can have that challenge and put the things they are practicing into play against each other, it is better than facing a bowling machine and better than bowling at a target.”
Gidman has been delighted with the way newcomers seam bowler Ben Gibbon and batsman Taylor Cornall have slotted into their first winter of full-time training.
He said: “They have settled in really well. Taylor is extremely fit, won the running tests quite easily. An extremely fit young man and has a great work ethic. I’m enjoying watching him go about his business.
“Ben, a big fast bowler, again settled in quickly, a great attitude, a great work ethic and very, very talented.
“It has been nice to watch them come into the group, develop some new relationships, friendships, work with us coaches, and they have settled in really well.
“Is full-time training a bit of a culture shock? Absolutely. But I think they’ve enjoyed it.
“We’ve got an excellent environment and a good culture here, and they’ve just settled in very well, and it feels like they’ve been around a few years.”
