Pace bowler Mohammad Hasnain is set to make his Worcestershire debut in the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Derbyshire beginning at New Road tomorrow (Monday).
The Pakistan international is available for the final five Championship matches of the season until the end of September.
All-rounder Kashif Ali and left-arm seamer Ben Gibbon, both in prime form for the Seconds, are also added to the squad, but pace bowler, Charlie Morris, is ruled out for two weeks with a knee problem.
Worcestershire Head Coach, Alex Gidman, is delighted with the way Hasnain has already settled in at New Road for his first taste of county cricket.
He said: “First of all, he is a charming young man, has settled in well, and he’s had three or four really good bowls.
“He looks in good shape. He hasn’t played a huge amount of cricket, but we are looking forward to having him as part of the team.
“Mohammad is certainly sharp, but he has put a real emphasis on accuracy. He is a very mature young man. He doesn’t just try to bowl quickly.
“He has listened to what we have been trying to do with the ball, and he will try and join that bowling plan and add to what we are trying to do.”
Hasnain will be looking to add to the six first class appearances he has so far made in his career.
Gidman said: “Absolutely. What we are looking for from overseas players is lots of different characteristics.
“Equally for us, potentially it is the start for us of a relationship with someone like Mohammad who can come over. We give him some experience, and he adds a different dimension to our group in terms of raw pace.
“We know he is inexperienced, but he adds something that we don’t have, so it is going to be really exciting to watch him go about his business.”
Kashif has amassed more than 700 runs in his last seven SEC knocks for the Seconds to add to some promising performances in the Vitality Blast.
Gibbon returned Worcestershire’s best SEC bowling figures for 37 years, with a match analysis of 12-129 in the win over Somerset at Stourport.
Gidman said: “Kashif has batted really, really well, pretty much since he joined us, and to get those runs in the second team is a great effort, and he thoroughly deserves his place in the squad.
“With losing Charlie to injury, we need a stock of bowlers who are available for the start of play tomorrow, and Ben comes into that group having bowled really well and being full of confidence.
“Really pleased to have the strength in the group, and if either of them gets their opportunity tomorrow, I’m sure they will be really excited and desperate to contribute.”
Batter Taylor Cornall will be looking to continue the promising start to his first class career at New Road.
He showed a calm head in steering Worcestershire over the finishing line in the superb win against Middlesex with 31 not out.
Gidman said: “We are really pleased with Taylor and how he is coming on. He is a very determined cricketer, very smart and mature beyond his years, in the cricketing sense.
“He is gutsy, with a great technique, and we are really hopeful of a competitive cricketer for the future.”
