TO say I will be frustrated to be sat in the pavilion at the Swalec Stadium rather than out in the middle tomorrow is an understatement.

I went through all the pain of pre-season only to pick up a small niggle in my second bowling spell in a friendly against Somerset at Taunton on Monday.

I had been feeling fit and was bowling well but then my left quad felt a bit tight when I was bowling to Marcus Trescothick.

I could have risked it tomorrow but it wouldn’t have been fair on my team-mates and there are plenty more games to come.

I am gutted but I should be fine to play against Middlesex at Lord’s next week – nobody wants to miss out a chance to play there!

I had visualised playing in the first game but you have to look at the bigger picture. We only have a small bowling squad so it is common sense to sit out this one, though that doesn’t make it any easier.

But all the same, here we go again for the start of a new season, although you would think it was the start of the rugby season again.

The weather once again in Cardiff has been unreliable to say the least which has limited our pre season to mainly indoor training. Our pre-season training actually started back in early November with the medical team putting us through some rigorous fitness testing.

This enables the trainer and physiotherapist to identify certain areas of fitness for individuals to improve on for the coming season. Unfortunately for me my area for improvement was weight loss and aerobic fitness!

This meant most of my time was spent on a treadmill and in the fruit and vegetable section in Sainsbury’s!

It wasn’t until mid-January when the boys headed into the nets after three months of hard fitness training.

It’s a very individual training programme during January and February and the boys work on what they feel they need to unless directed by the coaches. Some of the lads like to use bowling machines which can be used for either spin or pace.

I was lucky enough to get the chance to go to Chennai and attend the MRF Dennis Lillee Bowling Academy.

It was my third time to Chennai and both previous visits enabled me to prepare for what were to be the two best seasons of my career.

Hopefully this will work again! The programme consisted of fitness training at 6am every morning and a bowling session with Dennis for two hours in the afternoon.

Visiting India is a great experience and something I recommend to anyone. The friendliness of the people is incredible and just makes you realise how much we take things for granted in the UK.

As mentioned previously our outdoor practice has been limited so far but we have managed four outdoor nets and even managed three games.

Although it, was a first for me last week when it was ‘snow stopped play’ in Cardiff! To see the groundsman shovelling snow and sleet from the covers was quite a sight.

Having a few early games gave the opportunity for our new signings to make their debuts. David Brown has joined from Gloucester and Nick James from Warwick-shire to bolster the squad and give us some youthful exuberance in one day cricket.

Someone mentioned to myself and Mark Wallace this week that this is to be our third decade representing Glamorgan! This made me feel particularly old but not as old as Robert Croft who is entering his fourth decade with the club! It’s an outstanding record from Crofty who is approaching 800 appearances for Glamorgan.

The most notable signing has to be Shaun Tait who recently recorded the fastest ball in the world at over 100mph.

Shaun has signed for the Twenty20 competition and follows Jason Gillespie and Mark Cosgrove who also joined from South Australia.

It is going to be very exciting to watch him but also play on the same team as Shaun.

It could be quite a contrast with me bowling 75mph and Shaun over 100mph! He is a proven match winner and is having a great Indian Premier League season at present. Although I do feel sorry for my mate Wally who has to catch his bowling, (maybe another set of gloves needed for extra cushioning)!

In between the snow and showers we have managed three good practice games.

Our first was at Northampton where a Twenty20 match took place due to the poor weather. We won comfortably by 98 runs which gave us some good early season confidence going into a two-day match against Gloucester in Cardiff.

This unfortunately was curtailed by weather but some good practice was had by both batsman and bowlers.

After spending so much time indoors it’s vital to get some match practice outdoors before the early start to the season.

The season starts two weeks early this year with the visit of Sussex to the Swalec Stadium on Friday. It’s a great chance to get a good start to the season with three championship games in under two weeks. It’s always crucial I feel that you get a solid start which can lay a foundation for the rest of the season.

After coming close to promotion last year I feel we can go all the way this year with some of the younger players having gained valuable experience from last season.

One-day cricket is an area we have targeted for success this year. We have a number of very talented all rounders in our squad now which is vital for success in one day cricket.

With the addition of Shaun Tait and our resident overseas Mark Cosgrove we have some real fire power this year.

I`m sure we will be seen as underdogs by most critics this year but I have taken heart from what the Newport Gwent Dragons have done this year.

They have shown what can be achieved by the underdog this winter with their pure grit and determination. If we can match that this season, with the talent we have in our dressing room, I have no doubt we can achieve some silverware this year.