Gregory eyes batting improvement

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Lewis Gregory has already won many admirers for his performances in county cricket, but the Somerset all-rounder knows he has much more still to offer.

One of several promising youngsters on the books at Taunton, Gregory has thus far impressed mainly as a bowler in limited-overs cricket

His 23 List A wickets have come at an outstanding average of 19, and he has also proven potent in the game’s shortest form, claiming 26 scalps at 17 including two four-wicket hauls.

Such returns are encouraging, particularly as the 20-year-old views bowling as his weaker suit.

In an exclusive interview with ecb.co.uk, Gregory explained: “I have been playing more as a bowling all-rounder, but that’s not how I’ve grown up and not how I’ve seen myself.

“Batting is what I see as my main strength and I want to go out next year and prove to everyone that I can go out there and score big runs.

Lewis Gregory has made a big impression with the ball for Somerset, but he told ecb.co.uk: "Batting is what I see as my main strength."

“My main aim is to try and hold down a place in the first team and make huge contributions towards winning games.

“It’s always nice when your lesser strength seems to be the one that’s doing most of the damage. If my stronger suit comes to the fore then hopefully we can be in for a big season (in 2013).”

Clearly motivated to improve on his initial breakthrough, Gregory is also focussed on securing a regular slot in Somerset’s four-day team.

He concedes that he has yet to demonstrate his potential in the first-class arena, having made 10 appearances over the last two seasons. In 2012, his four LV= County Championship innings yielded just 40 runs, and he only once managed more than one wicket in a match.

"Last year, red-ball cricket didn’t go how I planned, so there will be a lot of emphasis on that (this winter),” he revealed.

“We’re basically in the indoor school and gym until Christmas and then I’m going out to Cape Town in January to play some cricket for two to three months before the season.

“I’ll go out there, try and get some confidence with the bat and also take some wickets.

“I’ve identified that I need to do a lot more work in terms of my consistency, and being able to put spells together. That’s something I’ll be working on very closely over the next few weeks and trying to put into practice in January.”

Should Gregory wish to seek advice from a senior figure at Somerset, he is certainly not short of options.

“There’s some huge experience here in the squad, some massively talented players,” he added.

“We (the younger players) tap into the likes of Treegs (Peter Trego) and Tres (Marcus Trescothick). Those kind of guys are brilliant and they’ll try and help you out as much as they can. It’s brilliant as a youngster to have that.”

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