Craig Miles Blog
12 March 2014
Craig Miles is the latest Gloucestershire player to give supporters an insight into his winter training and preparation for the new season.
The young pace bowler is looking forward to building on some excellent performances last summer and fulfilling his potential as one of the most exciting prospects in county cricket.
Craig writes:
After an enjoyable and successful first season as a full time professional, I was fortunate enough to be selected in September to be on the fast bowling 'Potential England Performance Programme' (PEPP) for the winter.
The programme has been setup by the ECB to recognise and help develop young quick bowlers who may have the potential to represent England in the future.
The other players on the programme were Craig and Jamie Overton of local rivals Somerset, Northampton's Olly Stone, Glamorgan' s Michael Reed, Middlesex's Tom Helm and Mark Wood of Durham.
At the end of September I went to the National Performance Centre at Loughborough for my bowling action to be scientifically screened and to undertake various physical assessments, in readiness for starting on the programme in late October.
I enjoyed a relaxing month back home with my family before travelling to Loughborough to meet up with the group for the first time. Although my winter training was beginning a couple of weeks earlier than the guys back in Bristol, I was excited yet nervous to see what the next six months had in store.
The first couple of weeks included further physical assessments, so the guys leading the programme knew where each of us were from a strength and conditioning perspective.
The programme has been designed to minimise bowling pre-Christmas to allow your body to fully recover from the summers workload and focus on improving our physical aspects through a rigorous training schedule. Each week consisted of 3 strength, two interval bike and two cardio (running) sessions.
In early December, we were fortunate to leave the wet and cold behind and spend five days at Brown's Sports and Leisure Club in Vilamoura, Portugal, to enjoy a slightly warmer climate, which allowed us to do some outdoor fitness sessions.
Bowling drills were introduced on our return to the UK a week before the Christmas break.
The turn of the New Year is a note in every cricketer's calendar as the new season is in sight. With that, myself and the guys returned to Loughborough in a good frame of mind after a well earned break.
The workload increased with tougher training and the introduction of bowling spells, especially when we trained alongside the Lions before they jetted off to Sri Lanka.
We lost of couple of members of the group as Jamie Overton returned to Somerset due to a reoccurring injury and Mark Wood made the step up to the Lions.
January passed quickly and we were joined by Chris Wright of Warwickshire a couple weeks before a trip to Potchefstroom, South Africa, in early February.
The eagerly anticipated trip to the high-altitude North West University was to include vigorous outdoor training and gym sessions whilst also having the opportunity to bowl outside in hot conditions.
After a solid three-week training block, the group returned to Loughborough for one last time to complete the end of programme fitness tests.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my winter at the ECB headquarters with the programme putting me in a good place for the season ahead with the Glosters!
I hope I can once again make valuable contributions with the ball and believe the team can make 2014 a successful season.
I look forward to seeing you all at the County Ground this season.
Craig
