Worcestershire Captain Brett D’Oliveira said the aim will be to try and cement a Division One spot in the LV=Insurance County Championship after promotion to the top flight was confirmed against Yorkshire at Headingley today.
D’Oliveira scored a superb century to take Worcestershire to within one run of the 300 target, which secured two points and ensured they would finish in the top two of Division Two.
D’Oliveira said: “If you look at the past, we have gone up and come back down, so the challenge is to go up and stay up at some point.
“Myself and Alan (Richardson) will sit down over the next few weeks and discuss and try and prepare over the winter as well as we can going into the next year.”
D’Oliveira insisted that gaining promotion was down to a team effort from everyone at the club.
He said: “I’ve just said in the dressing room it is not just about the 11 players who take the field.
“A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes. The ground staff put in amazing work, and so does everyone else at the club. It is really pleasing to reward the club with promotion.”
Worcestershire have produced some excellent cricket throughout the six-month season before tasting the joy of promotion.
D’Oliveira said: “It is a fantastic feeling, something we have worked really hard towards and really relieved to get over the line and finally be promoted.
“One thing we spoke about in the off-season was the hard work involved, and you have to keep going to the well and coming back.
“I think that throughout the whole year, the boys have been tremendous.”
D’Oliveira was dismissed on 103 with just one run needed to clinch promotion.
He said: “Extremely disappointed to get out at that juncture, but life goes on, things happen, and I’m just happy I contributed to that total.”
