Matt Bulbeck cant wait to start taking wickets again

Matt Bulbeck just can't wait for the start of the 2002 season,when he can get back to where he was and "start taking wickets again."

The left arm seamer who celebrated his twenty second birthday just recently told me of his frustrations during 2001. "I want to put two bad years behind me and get back to where I was before all of this happened" he said.

Certainly Matt, who announced his arrival on the scene in 1998 by taking 26 wickets to top the Somerset averages,has been working hard to ensure that he back to full fitness by the time the 2002 season gets underway.

Every morning for the last couple of months he has been a regular visitor to The Academy Fitness Centre at The County Ground where he has been following a rigorous training programme under the watchful eye of Club Physio Darren Veness and Fitness Trainer Andy Hurry.

The Physio told me "Matt is training very hard, and his fitness is better now than it has ever been.He's naturally fit so we have to step things up a gear for him."

What about next year I asked him. "We are looking for Matt to start 2002 as a definite first team prospect" the Physio replied.

Matt will have the added bonus of training in the sunshine during the winter months because he is jetting off to Australia just before Christmas where he will be spending three months at The Paul Terry Cricket Academy in Perth.

During his time in Perth Matt will continue with his fitness programme and will have daily nets working with former Aussie bowler Bruce Reid. He will also play cricket for a local club at the weekends.

By the time he returns to Taunton in March "I want to be better than I was before I got injured" Matt told me, a sentiment that will be echoed by all Somerset supporters.