Assistant Coach Alan Richardson will take charge of Worcestershire CCC’s Royal London Cup campaign this summer – and Head Coach Alex Gidman has complete confidence in him taking on the role.
Ex County paceman Richardson – who is also the club’s Bowling Coach – will be at the helm while Gidman is deployed as one of the Birmingham Phoenix coaching staff for The Hundred.
The two competitions are being staged at similar times during July and August, with the Royal London Cup consisting of eight group games ahead of the knockout stages.
Gidman and Richardson have worked closely together since joining forces at Blackfinch New Road three years ago.
The duo oversaw Worcestershire’s 2018 Vitality Blast triumph after being handed the responsibility by the then Head Coach Kevin Sharp, followed by another visit to finals day in 2019 and excellent 50 over campaigns in 2018 2019, reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively.
Gidman confirmed Second Eleven Coach Kadeer Ali would also assist with preparations for the One-Day Cup.
He said: “Alan will be in charge of the 50 over team.
“We missed the 50 over competition last year, but the players will come off the back of the Vitality Blast, so their preparation will be pretty good.
“The two competitions clash so that Alan will run the day to day management of the team.
“If there is a break in The Hundred, and there are a couple of days where I can go and support, watch a game and be around, then obviously I will do that.
“But it is also a great opportunity for Kadeer to step up and help Alan, and he has already been considerably involved with assisting with the first team.”
Gidman added: “Myself and Richo are close, we get on well, we are a pretty solid partnership, so there is not a vast amount he would do if I weren’t there and vice versa.
“All the decisions we make, and what we try and do with the players, is a team decision between us all the time in terms of practice and preparation.
“We have a pretty fluid coaching group, so I’m excited for Alan and Kadeer to enjoy this competition.’’
