Taylor heading to South Africa on ECB Pace Programme
22 December 2016
Matt Taylor will be joined by James Fuller, Jamie Overton, Reece Topley and Mark Wood as a group of young fast bowlers who will head for South Africa as part of England Cricket’s Pace Programme early in 2017.
Paul Coughlin, George Garton, Saqib Mahmood will also be joining Taylor in a two-week training camp at the High Performance Institute for Sport at North West University’s Potchefstroom campus from 26 January to 10 February.
“It [Pace Programme] allows us to work with our best young fast bowlers in a winter training block. We can do physical training work before Christmas and join that up with the bowling block in the New Year, so effectively we have a five-month training period.”
Kevin Shine, the ECB’s lead fast-bowling coach, said: “We have made a few changes to the group originally selected, and I think it’s left us with a really nice balance.
“Tom Helm has gone to England Lions, which is fantastic – exactly what we want to happen, and I’m sure he’ll benefit from the chance to play red-ball and white-ball cricket out in Sri Lanka.
"The chance to come out and work with us outside in South Africa in the superb facilities in Potchefstroom works well both for the players and their counties.
“For Reece, Jamie and the other guys, they’re working towards the start of the county season – and with counties tending to go away earlier to start their pre-season programmes now, the time on the Pace Programme will help to ensure they hit them well-prepared.”
The Pace Programme has been running since 31 October, with the four bowlers originally selected – Taylor, Coughlin, Garton, Mahmood and Helm – splitting their time between their counties and the Performance Centre in a six-week training block.
They will begin their return to bowling programme at the Performance Centre in January, along with Overton, Topley and Wood, before heading to South Africa, where the availability of outdoor training provides obvious benefits.
Shine developed the programme – previously called the Potential England Performance Programme – more than a decade ago. “The aim is to reinforce the physical and technical foundations required for international fast bowling,” he explained.
“It allows us to work with our best young fast bowlers in a winter training block. Previously we’d only had short camps of between two and four weeks, but now we can do physical training work before Christmas and join that up with the bowling block in the New Year, so effectively we have a five-month training period.”
Shine will be joined in Potchefstroom by Pete Atkinson, the ECB’s national lead for strength and conditioning.
Pace Programme – January/February 2017
Paul Coughlin (Durham)
James Fuller (Middlesex)
George Garton (Sussex)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Jamie Overton (Somerset)
Matthew Taylor (Gloucestershire)
Reece Topley (Hampshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
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