THE DEVELOPMENT and first-team breakthrough of the likes of Dillon Pennington and Pat Brown in the past 12 months will stand Worcestershire CCC in ‘good stead’ for the years, according to skipper Joe Leach.
Leach has recently resumed his first-team career after an 11-month absence through a stress fracture of the lower back and backed the young pace aces to continue to shine.
“We are in a really good spot. We’ve got a good stock of fast bowlers,” he said
“If they improve and work as hard as they should, and we keep pushing each other to get better, that will stand the club in good stead over the next few years.”
Leach said he ‘ticked every box’ in a meticulous rehab programme since suffering his back injury in a Royal London One-Day Cup encounter against Warwickshire at Edgbaston last June.
He said he was delighted to resume a career which had brought him 193 County Championship wickets from 2015 to 2017.
“It’s been a long, hard slog. It’s been 11 months to the day since I trudged off at Edgbaston in that 50-over game and could hardly walk before the scans confirmed the worst fears,” he said.
“It’s been a long, hard road, some demanding sessions and days when you feel like you are never going to get back out there but it’s nice to know it’s all worth it in the end and thankfully we are getting there.
Leach added: “It does make you realise how much you miss playing cricket.
“It is a good opportunity to take stock of where you are at in your career, where we are at a side. It has given me a lot of thinking time, time to work on my own game as well.
“I know for a fact it has rejuvenated me even though I probably didn’t need rejuvenating but it certainly gives you a new found hunger.”