Warwickshire's bowlers have arrived at La Manga Club ready to get some work in towards being fit and firing for when the rest of the squad arrives on tomorrow.
The extra time out at the Spanish resort for the bowlers, designed to improve their resilience, is among the tweaks made to their fitness and strength & conditioning programme this winter – and bowling coach Graeme Welch is delighted with the way things are shaping up.
Coming out here a little bit earlier than the rest of the squad is a great idea,” he said. “It enables us to increase the bowlers’ workloads gradually so there isn’t a big spike when we get to the start of the season.
Graeme Welch
“Coming out here a little bit earlier than the rest of the squad is a great idea,” he said. “It enables us to increase the bowlers’ workloads gradually so there isn’t a big spike when we get to the start of the season.
“Our physio Gerhard Mostert and S&C coach Jack Murfin have done outstandingly well this winter. They have put a lot of thought into how we can make the players more resilient and robust and the bowlers are looking in fantastic shape.
“There is never a guarantee that you won’t get injuries but, at the moment, the guys are looking great and champing at the bit to get outdoors after a long winter in the gym and indoor centre.
“Before the rest of the squad arrives, the bowlers are getting in some overs but there is a lot of gym time and a lot of recovery. Then when the rest of the lads arrive there will be some emphasis placed on bowling to left-handers and tail-enders.
“I want the bowlers to hunt as a pack next season. Last season, they couldn’t, because due to all the injuries we didn’t have a pack – except for Jeets who is a one-man pack! But the guys have worked really hard and well in the last few months and watching them has just reminded me what a strong unit we have here and that makes me feel very excited about the coming season.”
