Joe Leach says the strength in depth Worcestershire now possess in the pace bowling department will be a crucial factor across a six-month season of LV=Insurance County Championship cricket.
The all-rounder points to the most successful sides in recent seasons having that battery of bowlers to call upon to cope with the demands of four-day cricket.
It allows for an attack that can be fielded, which is fit and fresh and firing on all cylinders.
Leach, Dillon Pennington, Josh Tongue, Matthew Waite, Ben Gibbon, Adam Finch, Charlie Morris, Pat Brown and Mitchell Stanley can all be called upon if required by Head Coach Alan Richardson.
It leaves him with plenty of options for the opening block of six Championship games in seven weeks in April and May.
Leach said: “It’s great that we’ve got seven or eight guys that are capable of playing first team cricket. It’s good that the vast majority of those have got good experience across the board in first team cricket, some even beyond that.
“But I think it’s encouraging that if you look at some of the most successful four-day sides in recent years, and the way the game is trending, it is essential to have a battery of fast bowlers across the course of a six-month season.
“To have that strength in depth is hopefully going to hold us in good stead and, if we can keep everyone fit and performing, that will be a really positive thing for us.
“We’ve got an initial block of six games which is probably a little bit better than what we’ve had the last couple of years. I think we played nine in a row a couple of years ago.
“The schedule, the way it is, and the way some of the faster bowlers are set up now, it is important when they are on, they are on, and you are just not wheeling them out at 50, 60, 70%.
“Championship cricket, in particular, is a squad game. You need that strength in depth, and it is exciting as we sit here now with everyone fit, and we are in a good place.”
