Peters admits to fitness concerns over all-rounder Willey

As the County squad fly out to Barbados for their pre-season tour, Willey has yet to make a full return to bowling as he continues his recovery from a back injury.

The ailment forced Willey to curtail his involvement in the England Performance Programme and abandon plans to play for Auckland in the New Zealand domestic Twenty20 tournament.

And while the noises coming from the County Ground hierarchy, Peters being one of them, suggest the all-rounder will be fit for the season opener on April 13, the captain still has lingering doubts.

He said: “There’s a bit of a concern at the back of my mind as David hasn’t bowled properly for quite a while.

“What he’s got in his favour is that he trains very well and will give himself every chance of being ready.

“He’s started to turn his arm over and do a few bowl throughs so he’s progressing well.

“We’ve got a couple of two-day games when we’re over there and the plan is to let David play in one of those so he can build his bowling up to another level.”