WORCESTERSHIRE’S Players’ Player of the Year Joe Leach said he does not take his place in the side for granted despite his superb form during the majority of last summer.
New vice-captain Leach finished the 2015 campaign as the county’s leading wicket-taker with 59 wickets in the County Championship and also made several useful contributions with the bat.
However, the all-rounder insists he has to perform well in pre-season to bolster his chances of being selected.
“How am I going to top last season? I’m not really thinking about what happened last year anymore really,” he said.
“My focus is 100 per cent on this season and just trying to do the best I can to get promoted really.
“I haven’t set any personal goals as of yet. I’m just going to concentrate on this season.
“It’s a fresh start and fresh challenge for us as a team and let’s see what happens.
“Last year is irrelevant. We’ve still got competition for places and stuff at the start of the season and I’m viewing that the same as I have done any other pre-season.
“I’ve got to have a good pre-season to make sure I get picked first and foremost and then take that into the county season hopefully and do what I did last year.”
Leach was not chosen for the first four matches of the 2014 campaign and first two games of last season.
He said: “I would still not say my place is a ‘given’ in the side or anything like that.
“For me, it’s really important to do all the right things pre-season, start well and snowball in the summer like I did last year really.”
