PACEMAN Josh Tongue aims to build on the success of his first year of senior cricket with Worcestershire.

The academy product took 47 wickets and played all 14 County Championship matches in 2017.

He shook off back problems and earned call-ups into the ECB Pace Programme and the England Lions training camp in Australia.

An ankle injury forced Tongue to withdraw from the West Indies tour but he is back bowling aiming to again play a whole campaign and reach the 50-wicket mark.

The County begin their return to the top flight at Hampshire on Friday in Southampton (11am).

Tongue said: “I’d say I’m 100 per cent now. I’m back bowling fully so it has been about getting overs into my legs before the first game of the season.

“It was annoying to pick up the ankle injury because I was going to go to the West Indies with the Lions for the red-ball stuff which would have been amazing.

“But now this is a big season for me with Division One cricket. It means my name is in the hat now and if they (England) do need a bowler they know what I’m capable of.

“We bowled at the England players in the nets in Brisbane and Perth, people like Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman and all the Test players.”

Tongue continued: “Naturally there are better players in Division One cricket and hopefully I can bowl like last year and the rewards will come.

“That is my main goal — to maintain my form and do as well as I did last year.

“I would never have imagined I’d get 47 wickets and play all 14 games.

“I wasn’t expecting to play even five or six because of my back injury (the previous winter) so to play all 14 was amazing.

“I want to stay fit again. To get to 50 wickets would also be really good.”

Tongue has tapped into the experience of Steve Magoffin who is back at New Road for a second spell.

The 20-year-old added: “He has been excellent to talk to with the experience he has. He’s got nearly 600 wickets and having his knowhow to tap into is really good.

“When we bowl with each other he is really good — telling me how to work batsmen out. I hope I can have a career as long as his.”