Head Coach Alan Richardson says Worcestershire’s strength in depth with the bat is a crucial element in their attempt to be as successful as possible.
The recruitment in the past couple of years of Matthew Waite and Tom Taylor and, more recently, Ben Allison and Fateh Singh have added to a lengthier line-up in terms of quality.
Waite and Taylor have already shown their capabilities with the bat – in addition to the ball – at Visit Worcestershire New Road on several occasions.
But seamer Allison and spinner Singh also made their mark and showed their potential in the batting department during initial loan spells before moving permanently to the county at the end of the 2024 season.
Worcestershire’s middle to lower order proved crucial on several occasions last summer in recovering from challenging starts to matches.
Richardson said: “The quality and strength we have with our batting is something we take great pride in.
“We know it is a really important part of the balance of our side for us to try and be as successful as possible.
“The players put a real effort in to make sure we are as skilful as possible in all facets of the game.
“We will also continue to work hard on our fielding because we need to make sure we have players who can field in multiple positions and not be hidden and it’s the same with the bat really.
“In an ideal world, you don’t have anyone who can’t contribute with the bat. It is really difficult and I was one of those players who didn’t contribute with the bat and I understand how difficult it is!
“But I didn’t take my batting seriously enough and probably didn’t pay the attention to detail that we need to, so it’s really good for these guys that they do that and, as a support staff, we will continue to keep pushing that as well.”
Richardson admits the expectation levels on players are different to when he was a player.
He said: “The evolution of the game has changed but the expectations have also changed a lot.
“With fielding levels, the expectation is that people can move around the field really well and make incredible stops and take match-changing catches.
“That includes a lot of diving, a lot of sprinting around, and that is very different to when I started really.
“The intensity of the game has really changed. I wouldn’t necessarily say the skills levels have changed hugely, but the intensity and the expectation has changed.”
