Glamorgan's overseas player Jacques Rudolph has arrived in Cardiff ahead of the first LV= County Championship home game for the Welsh county against Gloucestershire this Sunday (scheduled start 11am).
Speaking to reporters after his first training session at the SWALEC Stadium, Jacques gave his reflection on his SA IronMan experience and a look ahead to the new season, The body is OK and better than what I thought it would be, said Rudolph.
The race did not go as well as planned but the big thing was that I got the medal which I badly wanted. I was preparing for about three or four months but I was sick for about two or three weeks prior. The day was quite tough and there was a lot of wind and the cycle was quite difficult.
As soon as I realised I was not going to get the time I wanted, I eased through it and got to the finish line. It was a great experience and something I have always wanted to do. It was only the next day where I could not barely walk, but it's much better now and the body is feeling good.
It has been very good for my physical fitness, but it's also a very good mental exercise to push your body and mind through those distances. I have learned a lot about myself and there are a lot of principles you can draw from the Ironman into cricket when it comes to discipline and determination. Hopefully these principles will come into my game for Glamorgan.
I am just glad I am in Wales and looking forward to getting the season started. It is nice to be here with some nice weather and be welcomed into the squad. I think we have a really good squad, with a good blend between some of the younger players that I don't know yet, and some of the older players, many of whom I know well. I was very glad to see the Glamorgan win against Surrey, it's a great start for the guys.
From my previous county experience, it's important whether you are a batsman or bowler, to get momentum and it will be good for us to get 2 or 3 wins under the belt to give the guys confidence that we can push for promotion to Division One.
It's a massive for all counties in the Second Division (to get promotion), but I do think we have the fire power to do it, with a lot of experience and game breakers so hopefully we can get ourselves into a good position.
Its important for us to prepare for four-day game well, and keep everyone fresh as possible physically and mentally and dealing with a long season comes down to how you prepare yourself. Fortunately I have had the experience of playing county cricket before so I will know what I need to do and that's one of the reasons I only signed for a half season in South Africa last year, so I would be fresh when I arrived here.
I think taking into consideration that I have had some experience here and playing alongside someone like Murray (Goodwin) it will be important for me to lead the batting line up and lead from the front and try and get a bulk of runs.
I had a chat with Toby (Radford) and said I would fit in wherever the team needs me, I can easily bat from 1 to 5, but it looks like I might be in the top 3, although I'm not 100% sure where yet, and will find out in the next day or two.
It's vitally important to get in the runs quickly, it's always good to get the early momentum and if I can spend as long as possible at the crease to get used to the conditions, because it is different to SA, so I just want to have a good game and spend as long as possible batting.
The last two years my cricket has been quite difficult for me and I have not scored the runs I wanted too, I felt coming back to county cricket I have really strong frame of references here and I really have a passion for the game when I come out here and I enjoy it so hopefully that fire can re-ignite and I can score a lot of runs which is what I was signed up for and I don't want to disappoint.
Glamorgan play Gloucestershire starting on Sunday 20th April, with play scheduled to start at 11am each day. Tickets are £15 for adults and £3 for juniors, enjoy your Easter Weekend in the sun at the SWALEC Stadium. Tickets are available from the Shop at Gate 2 each day, with gates opening an hour before the start of play.