County diary: Beginning a new term

As he gets his kit together for the start of his 20th season, Martin Bicknell will not forget that vital item for any pace bowler.

When it's warm and you get the smell of the grass you can't beat that feeling Martin Bicknell

"If they ever banned painkillers there would be a lot of bowlers slipping away from the game," he tells BBC Sport.

"You're always carrying some sort of niggle

"At this stage of the season you can pick little things up because of the workload increase and they stay with you for the rest of the year - maybe tendonitis in your Achilles or your knee.

"You're never bowling pain-free."

As champions Warwickshire showed with their strong start last season, points in April and May count just as much as those in September, so training starts in January.

"We aim to peak fitness-wise at the start of the season so four months of weight-training, running, bowling in the nets culminates then," explains Bicknell, 36.

"Once you get into the season there's very little time to do extra training work - it's just cricket all the time.

"Maybe there's an odd [gym] session but I try to save myself for my bowling."

He faces six months of hard labour but there is no disguising Bicknell's enthusiasm as he prepares to pull on a second jumper and get the season underway against Sussex.

"There are days when it's painful, it hurts, its cold, its windy and you don't want to be involved," he admits.

"But when it's warm and you get the smell of the grass you can't beat that feeling."

KIT BAGGED

Hampshire have joined a growing trend among counties by adorning their traditional whites with names and numbers.

But as well as easier identification, director of cricket Tim Tremlett can see another advantage.

"Having individually embroidered sweaters will definitely prohibit the irritating dressing-room practice of 'borrowing' each other's kit - with or without permission," he tells Hampshire's website.

"Some players, who should remain nameless, have a tendency to pick up the nearest suitable garment - regardless of whether it's actually theirs!"

COUNTIES BOLDLY GO ...

Two counties found new frontiers for their pre-season tours this March, Durham heading to the United Arab Emirates and Leicestershire for a week each in India and Pakistan.

"The trip provided the boys with a great life experience and gave then an invaluable insight into cricket in the UAE," says Durham director of cricket Geoff Cook.

Leicestershire skipper HD Ackerman is a bit more down to earth.

"It was great experience as lots of the guys have not toured there before," he says.

"They all came down with 'Delhi belly', except for the experienced campaigners [Phil] DeFreitas and Ackerman."

NO REST FOR THE WICKIE

Wicket-keeper Matt Prior thought he had earned some time off after a successful England A tour and long journey back from Colombo.

Read more: Prior aims to keep pushing

But Sussex skipper Chris Adams soon set him right about that.

"I'd just got home and was pretty tired to be honest," Prior tells BBC Sport.

"But I got a phone call from the captain and he said: 'We heard you landed and the boys would like to catch up.'

"There's no rest for the wicked."

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Reporting by Martin Gough, Scott Heinrich, Mark Mitchener and Paresh Soni