MATT Taylor is expecting big things of himself and Gloucestershire when the county cricket season gets underway next month.

The 22-year-old left-arm seamer made a major impact in T20 cricket last season, including bowling a maiden to the mighty Chris Gayle, and ended up with 15 wickets in the competition.

His progress in the longer formats has been hampered by injury. But, following a winter spent training with the England Performance Programme at Loughborough University and in South Africa, Taylor is confident any fitness problems are behind him.

He said: “It has been a great winter for me, training at Loughborough on the England pace bowlers’ programme, along with some very good players from other counties.

“Kevin Shine led the programme as the main bowling coach. We had a fitness coach as well and I feel I made a lot of progress.

“I have done a lot of strength work so I am in a better place in that sense, which hopefully will reduce the risk of injury, and I also feel my bowling has developed.

“We got to go on a two-week training camp in South Africa, which was a great experience, and meant we could get outside earlier than at home. The facilities were fantastic.”

Taylor only made five first class appearances for Gloucestershire last summer, but now feels prepared to spend a lot more time on the park.

“My aim is to play in all types of cricket,” he said. “I think the schedule is better for fast bowlers this year, having the T20 and 50-over competitions in blocks.

“That should mean more time for practice and rest, so I will be looking to contribute as much as I can in all the formats.

“As a team we will be looking to be competitive in all competitions. We feel we now have a strong enough squad to do that across the board.

“It’s a massive ambition for all the players to perform at the top level of the Championship, so we will be doing all we can to achieve promotion.”

Memories of bowling a T20 maiden to the big-hitting Gayle when Gloucestershire beat arch-rivals Somerset in front of an 11,000 Bristol crowd last June still bring a smile to Taylor’s face.

“I was really happy with that,” he said. “I can’t say I expected it to happen and I’m not sure how may other bowlers have sent down a maiden to Gayle in T20 cricket.

“It was just a relief to send down a few dot balls to him and not see him clearing the rope.”