by Glenn Pearson

Matt Coles’ ambitions to play international cricket in the future have been fuelled by a winter away with the England Lions and the Performance Programme.

The Kent fast bowler spent the majority of the winter working on his fitness and his bowling skills with the England Performance Programme in Loughborough and India.

The 21-year-old was then called up to the Lions squad as cover for the final games of their tour of Sri Lanka and Abu Dhabi, although wasn’t required to play.

It was an opportunity to work with England’s bowling coaches and Coles says the experience will stand him in good stead.

He said: "It was really beneficial for me, particularly with my action. We worked on fitness before Christmas and then we have been working on bowling.

"I would like to think I am a bit quicker, but the main emphasis of the programme I was on was to maximise my action.

"(Former England bowling coach) Kevin Shine picked up on a couple of points for me. It’s good to be given advice, it’s just about picking the bits out that work.

"I want to be the best that I can be. It’s all about progressing and moving forward and you never know what might happen if things go well."