Delray Rawlins says he is excited to have rejoined his Sussex team-mates and is champing at the bit ahead of the new county cricket season.

The Bermuda all-rounder is encouraged by the progress he is making in pre-season.

“I’m just getting back into it and it’s nice to be back working on skills and conditioning myself for the season,” Rawlins said.

“My body is feeling good and I’m just conditioning it to be right for the first game come March.”

Sussex’s pre-season preparations will also include three friendlies at the 1st Central County Ground.

They will host Hampshire in a two-day match starting on March 25 before another two-day affair against Kent, which begins on March 28.

Sussex will then play Cardiff MCCU in a three-day contest, starting on March 31, before facing Leicestershire in their Specsaver County Championship opener at home on April 5.

Asked what are his expectations for the upcoming season, Rawlins said: “I’m just looking to play as much first-team cricket for Sussex and hopefully contribute to some success for everyone this year.”

The 21-year-old and his team-mates are being put through their paces by Matthew Spence, Sussex’s new head strength and conditioning coach.

“He’s been good; I’ve really enjoyed the first couple of weeks with him,” said Rawlins, who is in the final year of his present deal at the club.

“I’ve had quite a few sessions now and I feel like my game is moving in the right direction, so I’m pretty excited to get going in pre-season.”

Spence, who has also worked at Sky Bet Championship football side Reading, is encouraged by the progress the players have made under his guidance.

“The lads have been putting in an absolute shift so far so I’ve been really happy with the effort,” he said. “I haven’t been disappointed with the lads and they have really been putting in good work.

“We’ve obviously got room to improve because this is preseason. But they’re on a good level currently, increasing their strength levels in general, which helps with injury prevention and some general robustness for players and then basically getting them faster and little bit more powerful.

“We’re trying to really push them and get them a lot quicker and then be a lot stronger so that protects themselves from any injury risks that are presented out in the field.”