BUILTH Wells cricket star Jamie McIlroy will be sharing insights into life as a professional sportsman at Glamorgan County Cricket Club this summer.

“I AM very grateful to my local paper, County Times for the opportunity to write this column and share my experiences with you all this summer.

Hopefully I’ll be able to provide some insight into what it’s like to be a professional cricketer and give you an idea of our day-to-day routines, both during pre-season and the season itself.

It’s fair to say it’s so far been a pre-season like no other.

Due to the pandemic, pre-season started late before we started training in small numbers and not as a full squad.

It’s quite strange not to see members of your own team for a few weeks at a time but it’s necessary to keep us all safe.

We’re currently training four days a week with plenty of strength and fitness sessions to prepare for the demands of the season, alongside three net sessions a week where we work on individual skills.

I’ve been very lucky to be placed in the group I have, which has given me the opportunity to learn from Michael Hogan and Timm van der Gugten.

They’ve been giving me plenty of tips and advice, along with our current bowling coach, former England bowler, Steve Watkin.

It’s the perfect set up for me and has really helped me develop my skills.

Away from training, we do get some free time which I have been using effectively to learn new skills outside of cricket.

I’m currently on a PCA on a personal development course and part of that is to work with the club’s media and marketing team, as well as ground staff.

It’s quite eye opening to see how much time and effort goes behind the scenes to make the club tick.

Now that the season is only six weeks away and the full fixtures are out, our training is ramping up so we’re ready for the season opener away at Yorkshire.

My goal this year is to break into the first XI and work towards securing a new contract. Having missed the majority of the last two seasons through injury I am ready to get back on the field and compete for a starting spot.”