Glamorgan seamer James Harris looks back on his second week with the England Performance Programme in Potchefstroom, South Africa in his exclusive diary for All Out Cricket.
I’ve got to be honest, as I write this I’m a little sore from spending a bit too much time in the sun. We’re now two weeks through our three-week trip. The boys are all looking nicely sun-kissed and trim from plenty of time spent on the running track and in the gym. This week we’ve also been joined by Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Graham Onions and Jimmy Anderson. They’ve popped over in order to prepare for the upcoming Test series in the UAE against Pakistan.
One thing I did forget to mention in last week’s diary was our day off. The general make-up of the programme while we’re here is six days on, with Sunday off. Last Sunday we headed to a lion park and had the chance to have a little play with some cubs and then watch as the big guys were fed – a truly great thing to see up close.
Monday December 5
The start of what has been another tough week. It was now time for the boys to start to up their bowling and work on the skills we would hopefully need in the New Year, if selected to tour Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with the Lions. We started off fairly gently; off only a half run bowling just four overs, followed up by a weights session in the afternoon. It sounds like an easy day but the first time bowling for a while really wakes up the body. Many will know what I’m talking about; after your first bowl for a while stiffness sets in and you cannot move the next day. Due to this Youngy our physio suggested a swim just to ease the muscles. Sounded like a good idea so I swam, finished, had a shower and got into some casual gear in preparation for dinner when I let my guard down. I was sat by the pool talking to Boyd [Rankin] when I was ambushed by [Nathan] Buck and [Jack] Brooks and thrown back into the pool. Cheers Lads!!
Tuesday December 6
With the boys not feeling too stiff from the day before, we had a long warm-up and were then back into more bowling. This time we were just simply working on hitting a length hard and pretty straight, not giving too much width. Dead-eye Buck was king of the target practice while I was taking a bit of time to find some form. The lunches are now starting to get to us; they’re very healthy and probably just what we need but there’s not enough variety. They’re starting to get a bit boring but we’ve only got another week or so to get through. As we don’t do weights two days in a row we had a running session of 150m sprints to fill the afternoon. The challenge was to complete them in around 20 seconds, with around two minutes recovery between each. Throw in the altitude as well, and lets just say we were blowing at the end of the session. We did eight in all.
Wednesday December 7
After some plyometrics sessions first up we were into some more bowling. Today, after working on some variations, we had the 24-ball challenge. This involved a target put on the off stump that had to be hit within six deliveries, or you’re out. If you hit the target then it gets moved to the left-handers off stump, and you have another six attempts. If you pass that one then you go to a bouncer and then to a yorker. I managed to get all the way through and just missed my yorker, which would have secured me a free meal courtesy of the lads on Saturday night. Sadly, it was not to be. Back to the gym in the afternoon – beach bodies all around for Christmas – and the boys are strong, so everyone is happy. That night we hit up Potchefstrooms’ favourite eatery Beef Boys for another meal and it has to be said some of the lads have now fallen head over heels for our waitress, who was incredibly attractive.
Stay tuned for part two of James’ look back at his second week in South Africa.
AOC Exclusive: James Harris’ England Performance Programme Diary
Glamorgan seamer James Harris looks back on his second week with the England Performance Programme in Potchefstroom, South Africa in his exclusive diary for All Out Cricket.
I’ve got to be honest, as I write this I’m a little sore from spending a bit too much time in the sun. We’re now two weeks through our three-week trip. The boys are all looking nicely sun-kissed and trim from plenty of time spent on the running track and in the gym. This week we’ve also been joined by Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Graham Onions and Jimmy Anderson. They’ve popped over in order to prepare for the upcoming Test series in the UAE against Pakistan.
One thing I did forget to mention in last week’s diary was our day off. The general make-up of the programme while we’re here is six days on, with Sunday off. Last Sunday we headed to a lion park and had the chance to have a little play with some cubs and then watch as the big guys were fed – a truly great thing to see up close.
Monday December 5
The start of what has been another tough week. It was now time for the boys to start to up their bowling and work on the skills we would hopefully need in the New Year, if selected to tour Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with the Lions. We started off fairly gently; off only a half run bowling just four overs, followed up by a weights session in the afternoon. It sounds like an easy day but the first time bowling for a while really wakes up the body. Many will know what I’m talking about; after your first bowl for a while stiffness sets in and you cannot move the next day. Due to this Youngy our physio suggested a swim just to ease the muscles. Sounded like a good idea so I swam, finished, had a shower and got into some casual gear in preparation for dinner when I let my guard down. I was sat by the pool talking to Boyd [Rankin] when I was ambushed by [Nathan] Buck and [Jack] Brooks and thrown back into the pool. Cheers Lads!!
Tuesday December 6
With the boys not feeling too stiff from the day before, we had a long warm-up and were then back into more bowling. This time we were just simply working on hitting a length hard and pretty straight, not giving too much width. Dead-eye Buck was king of the target practice while I was taking a bit of time to find some form. The lunches are now starting to get to us; they’re very healthy and probably just what we need but there’s not enough variety. They’re starting to get a bit boring but we’ve only got another week or so to get through. As we don’t do weights two days in a row we had a running session of 150m sprints to fill the afternoon. The challenge was to complete them in around 20 seconds, with around two minutes recovery between each. Throw in the altitude as well, and lets just say we were blowing at the end of the session. We did eight in all.
Wednesday December 7
After some plyometrics sessions first up we were into some more bowling. Today, after working on some variations, we had the 24-ball challenge. This involved a target put on the off stump that had to be hit within six deliveries, or you’re out. If you hit the target then it gets moved to the left-handers off stump, and you have another six attempts. If you pass that one then you go to a bouncer and then to a yorker. I managed to get all the way through and just missed my yorker, which would have secured me a free meal courtesy of the lads on Saturday night. Sadly, it was not to be. Back to the gym in the afternoon – beach bodies all around for Christmas – and the boys are strong, so everyone is happy. That night we hit up Potchefstrooms’ favourite eatery Beef Boys for another meal and it has to be said some of the lads have now fallen head over heels for our waitress, who was incredibly attractive.
Stay tuned for part two of James’ look back at his second week in South Africa.