Wednesday, October 14th, 2020

PRIDGEON PRAISES MITCHELL “QUALITY AND LONGEVITY” AFTER JOINING 500 CLUB

Worcestershire CCC’s Cricket Steering Group Chairman, Paul Pridgeon, has paid tribute to “the quality and longevity” of Daryl Mitchell who has joined the County’s 500 games club.

Mitchell reached that magnificent appearances milestone for Worcestershire in the Bob Willis Trophy encounter with local rivals Warwickshire at New Road and typically marked the occasion with a century.

He has a particularly fine record in terms of his appearances in County Championship-Bob Willis Trophy cricket.

Mitchell has missed just ONE four-day game for the County during the past nine seasons, and it is a testament to 36-year-old Mitchell’s high levels of fitness as well as his excellent form.

The 36-year-old has played in 134 of Worcestershire’s last 135 four-day games.

He put together a run of 68 successive appearances before missing the home match with Nottinghamshire through injury in August 2015.

Since then Mitchell has clocked up another 66 County Championship-Bob Willis Trophy games on the bounce including the five in the Bob Willis Trophy this summer.

In all first-class cricket, he has made 207 appearances for Worcestershire plus 132 in List A cricket and 170 in the T20 – a total of 509 games.

Paul Pridgeon, said: “To have played so many games on the bounce shows two things – quality and longevity.

“Daryl has been the rock at the top of the innings for many years, one of the most challenging roles to occupy in cricket, and so consistent, and he contributed again in this summer’s Bob Willis Trophy.

“But to have put together such a run of games means he is not only performing well enough week after week to be selected but is also available for selection, and that is down to his fitness and hard work he puts in.

“To reach 500 games for one County is a brilliant effort and Daryl has been the latest in a long line of top openers for us including Don Kenyon, Glenn Turner, Alan Ormrod and Tim Curtis.”