Alex Hughes says Derbyshire’s squad will be putting in the hard yards over the winter, as they aim to make supporters proud in 2022.
Hughes, who has more than 230 Derbyshire appearances under his belt, signed a new two-year deal in September but missed much of the 2021 season through a side injury, with the all-rounder unable to bowl upon his return in the Royal London Cup. He is now fully-fit ahead of the team’s winter training regime, which begins next week.
As the squad turn their attention to next summer, they will do fitness training and testing throughout November and December, before getting back in the nets for cricket practice in the New Year.
With a tough 2021 season behind them, Hughes is looking forward to working alongside the team again, and says everyone is hungry to improve and earn results for the supporters next year.
“There’s always a lot of reflection in the time we have off, both as an individual and from a team point of view,” he said.
“The closer you get to returning to training, the more excited you are about being back together as a team and looking forward to the new season. Now it’s about what we can do to improve and prepare for that.
“I enjoy working with the lads, as I’m quite a team-orientated person, so that kind of stuff comes pretty natural to me. What I have to do now, now that the Club have given me another two years, is to become accountable for my own performances, put in some match-winning performances and become more consistent across all formats. I know I can do it, so I’ll be trying to prove I still have a lot of fight left in me.
“I’d not had an injury in a long time, so to miss so much time due to injury was really disappointing, but it’s through injuries and setbacks that you think about a lot more things and get a clearer outlook on where you want to go. I think I gained a lot as a person during that time, which will make me even more hungry to get back into the side and win some games for Derbyshire.
“Last season wasn’t a good one for us, we’ve got to now do everything we can to improve, win some games and make the supporters proud of us.”
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