THIS time last year Somerset had seen just two homegrown players make Test debuts for England since 2000 - that tally has now doubled in the space of just five months..

Craig Overton and Jack Leach return to Somerset fresh from a winter which, though poor from an England point of view, has provided both with invaluable experiences to take into the new season.

The pair were among few to finish England’s winter with reputations enhanced, and both are now aiming to put in the performances to consolidate their Test places.

Looking ahead to the new season, Overton said: “I feel ready. 

“I am getting used to bowling with the Dukes ball again, where it does swing, so you have to bowl different lines and lengths. 

“It’s different but not too much, so hopefully it won’t take long.”

Somerset County Gazette:

SUCCESS: Craig Overton celebrates an Ashes wicket (Pic: PA)

Both stressed the importance of a good start, with Leach hoping to take the momentum from last year’s ‘Great Escape’ into this campaign.

The spinner said: “The focus has to be to start well, that’s something we’ve lacked in the last few years. 

“If we can replicate the intensity we played with at the end of last season, when we were scrapping for our lives, we will be a hard team to beat.

“At the start of the season everything is to play for – everyone starts with no points and we’ve seen in the last couple of years, with Essex coming up and winning it and Middlesex going down after winning it, that you can’t take any game for granted - you have to put everything in to every game and treat each one like a cup final.”

The pair impressed with bat and ball in the recent series in New Zealand, with Overton scoring a counter-attacking 33 not out to prevent England recording their lowest ever Test score.

Reflecting on walking to the wicket at 23-7, Overton said: “It was just bizarre. 

“I’ve been in games where you lose three or four wickets quickly but it just seemed everyone was coming and going – normally you have a partnership of 60 or 70 and get out of it but we just kept losing wickets. 

“They bowled really well, it swung just enough and we either nicked it or missed it. That’s part and parcel of cricket and it was up to us to come back from that – we showed in the second innings that we could hold a bat.”

Leach, meanwhile, was pleased with how he bowled - “I think I showed what I can do” - and also took time to praise the support he has received from the Somerset faithful on his journey, which has taken him from the challenge of re-modelling his action last winter all the way to a Test bow.

“The support is amazing, it makes such a big difference to me and really drives me on,” the Taunton-born spinner said.

“I’m a Somerset fan, I’ve come to watch Somerset since I was a young boy, so to play for Somerset and go on to represent England with that support behind me is incredible and means a lot.”