Josh Poysden will travel to the UAE today determined to wring every ounce of value from his invitation to spend three weeks there with the England Lions squad.
While not named in the squad itself, Warwickshire leg-spinner Poysden, along with Lancashire’s Matt Parkinson, will join up with the Lions at the ICC Academy in Dubai having already spent some time among the group at the ECB National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough.
And Poysden, who made good strides for the Bears last season including taking his first Specsavers County Championship five-for, is hungry to make the absolute most of his opportunity.
“Going to Dubai is a great chance for to spend some time in an elite environment among world-class coaches and I just can’t wait to get out there and bowl and bowl,” said the 25-year-old. “I really enjoyed the time in Loughborough where people were very welcoming. Just to be around coaches like Peter Such, Andy Flower and Graham Thorpe can only make you learn and put you shop-window and now to be going out to the ICC Academy is very exciting prospect.
“After Warwickshire’s post-season break I went back to Edgbaston to do some work with bowling coach Alan Richardson just to dust off the cobwebs and he was brilliant as always so that really helped. Then it was Loughborough and now Dubai so I am getting a great chance to learn and improve which is what I have to keep doing.
“I need to improve in both red-ball and white-ball cricket and I will be working on both in the UAE, with top coaches and bowling at high-class batsmen.”
Poysden has spent the last three winters playing club cricket in Sydney and again this winter might play some competitive cricket somewhere in the world after the New Year.
“There is no substitute for bowling outdoors,” he said. “It would be great to play somewhere later in the winter but we’ll see if the opportunity presents itself.”
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