SOMERSET’S young fast bowler JT Langridge joined the playing staff in the autumn and has since spent the whole of the closed season training hard at the Centre of Excellence.

Talking about the last few months the 19 year old, who grew up playing his cricket for Ilminster ,said: “I have been here full time this winter which has been really good fun and it has been very different to previously when I was on the Academy. This is my job now!

“This winter has been incredibly beneficial for me and I feel like I have come a long way, physically and with everything else so its been really good.”

Talking more specifically JT said: “I have done a lot of work with the S&C, and the largest part of my time has been spent working on my fitness..

“Coming back from the stress fracture I hadn’t done much at all so that I had to get a fair bit done to get myself ready to work harder at my bowling. I have also done a lot of work on fielding with Paul Tweddle and also spent time working on my skills with Steve Kirby - who is a wizard.

“There are things I have worked on previously for years but in a couple of weeks Kirbs has helped to sort them. I am getting a lot better really quickly. The understanding he has for my action considering I hadn’t worked with him previously is incredible.

“Kirbs is different in many ways to other bowling coaches I have worked with but I just feel that he works so well for me. He knows how to push my buttons and get me going.”

What’s happening between now and the start of the season? “It’s all about me getting fit. The other bowlers are still way ahead of me, and I don’t expect I will play any games in pre-season - for me it’s about getting me ready for the season.

“I will be working on the skills I have done in the indoor school and transitioning them outside and into a game like scenario and bowling off a longer run.

”It’s going to be good to get away to UAE and enjoy the warmth, train hard and play some cricket so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’m hoping to be match fit come the start of the season, but I’m still building myself up so it might be that I’ll play a couple of games early on and then get rested to recover.

JT added: “I’m just going to go out there and prove myself and if I earn the opportunity to get selected for anything I will be happy but it will depend on the amount of cricket I can play.”

The youngster is certainly rated highly by Somerset bowling coach Steve Kirby who said: “It has been very exciting to be able to get JT on the staff and what I have seen of him so far far makes me very excited.’

The bowling coach added: “The strides he has made in a very short space of time are impressive. Getting fit and strong are now his main priorities and if he can do that then the ceiling is exceptionally high for him- so the ball is now in his court.”