Lancashire's Richard Gleeson is ready to show his staying power

Richard Gleeson believes his late arrival to professional cricket means he can keep playing longer than some of his fellow players.
Richard Gleeson joined Lancashire in 2018Richard Gleeson joined Lancashire in 2018
Richard Gleeson joined Lancashire in 2018

Blackpool's Lancashire fast bowler only made his first class debut for Northamptonshire in 2015 before penning a three-year contract in 2016.

Having joined the Red Rose towards the end of the 2018 season, his performances led to spells in the Big Bash and with the England Lions last winter.

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That culminated in his selection for the ECB’s 55-man training group going into a packed summer schedule with matches due to be played against West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia.

At 32 years of age, Gleeson is only three years younger than Liam Plunkett, who was left out months after helping England to World Cup glory.

However, his relatively late introduction to the county scene means he hasn’t had the wear and tear endured by his more experienced counterparts.

“I can play for a little bit longer,” Gleeson maintained.

“It’s a tough old game and it takes a lot out of the body.

“I know, when I’ve had scans, the physio at Lancashire has said to me I’m like nothing they wouldn’t expect to see in a normal 32-year-old.”

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The lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic might have caused havoc for cricketers ranging from recreational players to those at the elite end of the sport.

It might have given players an extra rest but also brings the risk of added injuries when they return after such a long lay-off; especially when it comes to the quicker bowlers.

That, in addition to a large quantity of matches in a short space of time as well as lessons learned from other sports, was the logic behind the enlarged training group.

Gleeson said: “They don’t want us to spike too quickly and have injuries.

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“I’ve read about the football in Germany and I think the injury rates are up 250 per cent.

“We’ll take it steady, that’s why they have got a lot of players in this squad; there will be players who get injuries.

“Bowling fast, there tends to be a lot more injuries that take longer to recover from; there’s data that shows the chances of injuries.

“They are a lot more knowledgeable on how they need to structure workloads.

“If they are going to rotate, I think that would be the area that would get rotated a bit more.”