Tour not total loss for Collymore

Corey Collymore is speaking highly of the benefits he gained from the recent ill-fated West Indies tour of England.

But the recuperating Barbadian fast bowler admits he is nowhere near the top form that catapulted him into the international arena after only a handful of first-class matches.

'I think I still have a lot of work to do,' he told NATIONSPORT on his return from England.

The 22-year-old could not say just when he would be once more bowling in the impressive fashion that earned him 32 wickets in seven firstclass matches in the 1999 regional season.

'It's just a matter of when I'm feeling ready. It's a matter of putting in the work.'

He said, however, he was feeling no pain now.

Collymore's comments come against the background of yet another serious back injury that has interrupted his career.

When his name was announced in the touring party, it took many by surprise, as he had played no serious cricket for about seven months.

However, Collymore said the three-month tour helped him get back on track.

'I've learnt a few things. I also did some work in the nets with Courtney (Walsh) and that helped me a lot.'

In six first-class matches, the former West Indies youth cap took 15 wickets at 24.60 apiece. His best innings haul was three for 18.

But his tour was not trouble-free. Twice injuries got the better of him, including a shoulder problem.

'I was trying to do some extra training in my room and that is what caused it. I probably did not warm up properly,' he said.

'(Before that) Things were coming along very good. I was doing a lot of gym work and work with the physio.

'It's a matter of coming back home now and working on my game and getting the basics right again.'

The general feeling is that conditions in England are more often than not bowler-friendly, but Collymore reported to the contrary.

'People always say the conditions are favourable to fast bowlers but in the games I played, the wickets were not that helpful, only one or two actually. It was very difficult to bowl,' he said.

Team coach Roger Harper gave Collymore a fair assessment, but was only disappointed by one negative.

'Corey had a decent performance in the county games, but he kept getting injured at the wrong time,' Harper said.

'For someone who wasn't playing inter-national games, he had quite a few niggles.'

Collymore was elated in going on his first major tour, but like many others, he was disappointed at the outcome with the West Indies losing a Test series to England for the first time in 31 years.

'It was a disappointing tour. I think we all have to come back home and work on our games and hope to do better next time,' he said.