Somerset’s young all rounder Josh Thomas has had a bit of a busy time since he signed his first professional contract with the club at the end of last summer and it hasn’t ended yet because on Monday afternoon he headed off with the rest of the squad to Abu Dhabi for a pre-season camp.

The 19 year old slow left arm bowling all rounder who has played up through the Somerset age group teams, graduated from the Academy last summer and to date has played in nine List A matches.

Before he headed off to Abu Dhabi Josh talked about his last few months.

“It was great to be offered a contract by Somerset and then soon after that I went off to South Africa where I played cricket for Rondebosch in Cape Town. It was a great trip and well worth it and I stayed out there until just before Christmas. 

“The standard of the cricket was a lot better than I expected. I was in the Rondebosch team as a bowler which I wasn’t too unhappy about and every weekend I bowled my 10 overs and I was taking a good amount of wickets.

“I was very happy to come back to England and train with the Somerset players  who were still local. It was good to be back training and I was happy to knuckle down after Christmas.”

“I have been working on my bowling with Paul Tweddle which I feel has been really beneficial for me and I have been batting and facing bowlers indoors which is not easy. I haven't faced bowlers like Lewis Gregory or Josh Davey indoors before which has been a challenge but well worth it.”

How did Josh find living out in South Africa?

“It was the first time that I have lived on my own so I was cooking for myself, which I quite enjoy. However I was doing my own washing and remembering to do things which was a bit more challenging. I also found that living on your own you spend a lot more money!”

Regarding the trip to Abu Dhabi Josh said: “I’m really looking forward to getting out to Abu Dhabi and getting outside to play on grass wickets and have a good run around before the season starts back here in England.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming season Josh said: “I want to get the chance to play in as many first team matches as possible, which is going to come from scoring runs and taking wickets in the second team, so I cant wait for the season to get going.”