The Somerset Cricket Academy is now in full swing and last week Somerset captain Lewis Gregory spent an evening delivering a bowling masterclass that was very much appreciated by all of the young bowlers in the group.

All rounder Kian Roberts - who is in his final year on the Academy - talked about the Somerset captain’s input.

“It was really good to hear his perspective on what he does during games and how he goes about getting people out when he is swinging the ball away or when he is swinging the ball back in. He also talked about the variations he has in T20," said Kian.

“He is where we all want to be ultimately, we want to be in the first team so to have Lewis  the Somerset captain come to work with us meant a huge amount to me. For him to take timeout of his evening and his chill time away from cricket to come and coach us boys was something very special and it meant a huge amount to me.

“Me and Lewis bowl quite similarly so on that level hearing how he goes about his game days and what he thinks about when he is running into bowl and when he is bowling clicked with me, and how I go about things as well.

“I think that the session with Lewis has been one of the high spots of my time on the Academy to date.”

Alex Barrow, the Boys Academy Lead Coach, said: “ It’s really powerful for the club captain to come in and for the Academy boys to meet Lewis and vice versa and for Lewis to see the talent that we have. It was really beneficial for the Academy Seamers to have Lewis among them, to interact with him and have the opportunity to ask him questions to benefit their own development.

“His journey was a little bit different because when he was on the Academy Lewis didn’t bowl a huge amount so he has had to learn all his skills whilst playing first class cricket, and that's what I wanted to tap into.

“Andrew Griffiths, Ben Green and Calum Haggett worked with Lewis and did a brilliant job in bringing all that together.

“Lewis talked about how he has developed his skillset to be an outstanding wicket taker. Talking about the nuances and knowledge he has gained through his experiences. For the seamers on the Academy to explore and play around with that through the session that Griff set up with Lewis there to provide his insights.

“It gave these guys more awareness of how to get top batters out like Lewis has done over his career- that was the purpose from a skill point of view, and try to accelerate their learning and provide them invaluable insight from someone who has delivered over a long period of time. We have seen those areas transfer into the skills sessions and there has been some great learning and continued exploration.

“He has got such a positive outlook on how he looks to go about things and he is very willing to explore within his game and that comes from backing and trusting himself through the work and success he has had."