BOWLER George Scrimshaw is set to play a full part in the ECB Pace Programme this winter.

He has started strength training with Worcestershire after a slight aggravation of a back problem.

Scrimshaw, 19, returned to action this summer after a stress fracture before aggravating his back late on but he has made good progress.

He will join up with the programme for strength training before Christmas and then resume bowling at new year camps in Spain and South Africa.

County head of sports science and medicine Ben Davies said: "He made his T20 debut and played a lot of second-team cricket so we actually got some overs into him.

“Unfortunately he has just had an aggravation of that area again towards the end of the season. He has got some inflammation.

“He is fine. We are expecting him to be fully fit for the start of next season. He has started strength training early.

“We have brought his pre-season forward a bit and are striving to get him nice and strong for pre-season to build his bowling and go again.”

Davies continued: “We have had talks with the England staff and it is not going to have any effect on him in terms of the pace programme because predominantly before Christmas they are doing strength training.

“He can join in with that with certain parameters because of his injury and then he can actually start his back to bowling when they go away after Christmas.

"It actually works quite nicely he is going on that programme, quite a nice tonic considering he got that injury again.”

Skipper Joe Leach is back to full fitness after defying a side strain late in the season.

Davies said: “That is completely settled now. It was only a minor injury. He had a cortisone injection as well in his ankle which settled it down and he didn’t miss any cricket.”

Brett D'Oliveira has suffered no long-term damage to the shoulder injury he managed late in the season.

Davies added: “It is basically a situation where the shoulder comes slightly out of the joint and goes back in again so it is not a full dislocation.

“An MRI scan showed there is no long-term damage or any soft-tissue damage in the area.

“He is on a strengthening programme now for that shoulder and hopefully there won’t any subluxation in the future.”