Worcestershire Club Captain Brett D’Oliveira, batter Jack Haynes and pace bowler Pat Brown have returned from The Hundred and are part of the squad for tomorrow’s LV=Insurance County Championship match with Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
D’Oliveira played two games for Birmingham Phoenix and Haynes and Brown one apiece for Oval Invincibles, but now, their focus is on red ball action for the remaining four Championship matches.
They are included in a 13-strong squad as Worcestershire look for a strong end to the campaign during a busy period of four games in four weeks.
Head Coach Alex Gidman, who was part of the Phoenix coaching set-up, said: “For those guys, it has been a really healthy experience. I’ve chatted to them all and obviously spent some time with Brett, and he has learnt a huge amount, and it has been great from that point of view.
“None of them played a huge amount of cricket, but I’m sure they are all desperate to join back up with our group and get back into it again.
“We are after as good a month as possible and are on course for our best Championship season since 2018 in terms of points, batting points, bowling points, hundreds scored, and individual performances.
“If we have a good month, there is a huge amount to gain from it from a team and individual perspective, and that’s what we will be looking to do.”
Gidman has been encouraged by the performances in red ball cricket, although Worcestershire could not push home the advantage of winning positions against Glamorgan and Derbyshire at New Road.
He said: “There are two sides to every story. We are disappointed to have missed out on a couple of opportunities to have won games.
“But equally, we have got to recognise the team played some outstanding cricket to get into those positions.
“Hopefully, in these next four games, we can reproduce the cricket we have played, more often than not, throughout the season in the Championship.”
Pakistan pace bowler, Muhammad Hasnain, will not be part of the squad for the remainder of the summer after his call-up for the Asian Cup.
Kashif Ali (thumb) and Josh Baker (back) are also absent from the side that last played Championship cricket against Derbyshire at New Road in late July, along with Charlie Morris (knee).
