"I'll Be Stronger This Season" Says David
18 March 2013
David Payne is confident that a special fitness programme devised for him this winter will pay dividends during the coming season.
The 22-year-old left-arm seamer has been working closely with Gloucestershire’s strength and conditioning coach Chris Bodman since the players reported back in November.
Now David is hoping to reap the benefits of his efforts as the squad prepare to move outdoors in the next stage of pre-season preparations.
He told this website: “The training has gone very well and we are very happy with the results. It has been tough and I have been in the gym four days a week for an hour or so each session.
“There has been a lot of squatting and work on building up strength in my legs. It has been a specific programme, which it was felt would work for me.
“My quads and hamstrings should be stronger as a result. The legs take a lot of the load when bowling, so hopefully I will now be able to bowl longer spells and come back fresher towards the end of a day.
“I’m now looking forward to bowling outside again and getting involved in the pre-season games.”
David is also quietly confident about Gloucestershire’s prospects for the summer, although he would rather keep targets to himself.
“I have personal goals in mind in terms of the number of wickets I want to take, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and will be taking things game by game,” he said.
“The players have trained really well during the winter and things look really promising. I wouldn’t like to predict exactly how we will do, but I’m optimistic for a good season.”
