Ben Cotton says he is looking to build on the progress he’s made over the last two seasons with the first-team after the squad reported back for pre-season training.
The squad returned for training on Monday and begun their programme with fitness testing in the new state-of-the-art Sports Centre at the University of Derby.
Staffordshire-born Cotton and his Derbyshire teammates started their pre-season programmes today with a view to working on specific skills once they return after the Christmas break.
“It was great to get back into it and get back with the all of the lads once again,” Cotton said.
“Our first day back was obviously a very long one due to the fitness testing. That was all about seeing what stage each individual is at ahead of pre-season.
“The new Sports Centre at the University of Derby is a great facility. There’s a lot of space and I had a look around the gym which also looks excellent.
“Today we have got straight back into the cricket. Everybody has done a little bit of fielding to dust off the cobwebs and warm up our hands. There will be some sore hands tomorrow after catching a lot of cricket balls but we will all be straight back into the gym.
“Everybody has mainly used the time off to go to the gym and keep ourselves ticking over. Obviously we used the first couple of weeks to have a holiday and get away for a little while but we know it is now time for hard work.
“Up until Christmas we will be training very hard and doing a lot of fitness. We will also look to improve our techniques in both batting and bowling, as well as fielding. If we just hammer all of those before Christmas, they should be nailed by the time we step it up in the New Year.
“An improvement in fitness is a big one for me first up, personally,” Cotton admitted. “Then I want to keep progressing in my bowling as I have done in the past couple of years. I’d also like to try and improve my batting as much as possible.
“The work after New Year will be more skills-based, working towards the Abu Dhabi tour and the new season. The bowlers will be looking more at specific skills for one-day stuff as well, such as yorkers and slower balls.
“We will do a lot of technique drills in the run up to looking at our specific skills to make sure we are ready come April.”
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