Leather ready for fifth ECB trip

Leicestershire CCC Head Physiotherapist Rob Leather is again looking forward to linking up with the ECB next week.

This will be the fifth time that Leather, whose clinic is based at Grace Road, has been involved with the Potential England Performance Programme including trips to Chennai and Potchefstroom.

He said: “It’s always good to work with professional cricketers and see different parts of the world. I did two years with the ECB in Chennai where we worked with Dennis Lillee, and now we work in Potchefstroom, where we can deliver a world-class programme in an elite environment.

“Travelling is always interesting, it is a little tougher being married with a daughter but you get to find out a lot about the lads. It’s always challenging and good fun.

“Quite a few bowlers have been through the system including current England bowlers Steven Finn, Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan. A few of the current Lions bowlers have also been, such as Boyd Rankin, Craig Overton and Matthew Dunn.

“There have been Leicestershire connections with Nathan Buck being part of it too when he was 18. The conversion rate of lads going on through the programme to play for England Lions or the full international side is very good.”

Six PEPP bowlers – Somerset duo Lewis Gregory and Jamie Overton, Matthew Hobden (Sussex), Craig Miles (Gloucestershire), Middlesex’s Harry Podmore and Olly Stone (Northamptonshire) – will arrive in Potchefstroom on Monday February 2 and spend 18 days training under the guidance of Head Coach Neil Killeen.

Leather said: “The Potential England Performance Programme was set up by Kevin Shine when he took over as fast bowling coach and looks purely at developing young fast bowlers.

“England’s philosophy is to have an over-supply of fast bowlers, so we’re look at developing young guys who are 3-4 year projects. They aren’t quite ready for the international scene but have been earmarked as having the potential to be some of the world’s best players.

“The fast bowler is the guy that gets subjected to the highest workloads. There is nothing like fast bowling in the world, the closest being javelin throwing – but even javelin is full-out maximal episode and bowling is a sub-maximal episode and repeated numerous times.”

Leather’s role with the ECB is not dissimilar to what he does at Leicestershire in the sense that he looks after the physical wellbeing of players, there is just a bigger focus on the specifics of fast bowling development.

He said: “Fast bowling is a tremendously stressful business and it’s tough on the body. Physically you need to be in great shape. It is recognised worldwide that fast bowlers get injured and we just try to get them as strong as we can at the earliest possible age to reduce injury risk.

“We want to look after the young bowlers, who are an asset to winning games of cricket. I oversee some of the medical work and work with the full time England medical staff. Essentially I’m the physio who looks after the 6-7 athletes that we have and I look after their general wellbeing and making sure we communicate well with the counties.

“I look after their injury management and work with the strength and conditioning coaches to ensure the guys are as robust as they can be. Ultimately the aim is for the lads to make their mark with their counties at the start of next season.”

Ahead of the PEPP fast bowlers arriving in Potchefstroom in February, a mixture of high potential seam bowlers from the England Women’s Academy (EWA) and England Women’s Development Programme Under-19s (EWDP U19) will take part in the first ever England women’s performance pathway fast bowling camp from January 26 – February 5.

EWDP U19 Head Coach, Salliann Briggs, will lead the ten day training camp, supported by Glamorgan’s David Harrison, and Leather thinks it’s another important development in the women’s game.

“I am not involved with the women’s programme that I am aware it is happening and it’s a great thing,” he said. For the women to go onto 12-month contracts and have more financial support can only help their development.

“It’s good for women’s cricket that time and money is invested in their physical development too, so their training and matchday performance is as good as it can be. It’s exciting times for the women’s game.”