Worcestershire skipper Daryl Mitchell will welcome another "experienced head" to turn to for advice in the field after the signing of Alex Gidman from Gloucestershire on a two year contract.
Mitchell has skippered a young side to promotion in the LV = County Championship especially when Moeen Ali (England commitments) and Gareth Andrew (injured) were unavailable.
But the 30-year-old will now have the benefit of the vast knowledge of former Gloucestershire captain Gidman to call upon in addition to his batting skills.
Mitchell, currently skippering an MCC side during a tour of Japan, said: "Alex brings a lot with his batting. We saw at the tail-end of the season how well he performed for Gloucestershire.
"He was their top batter by a long, long way (1,277 Championship runs).
"It's a great sign for us that we can attract these kind of players and the fact he wants to come to Worcestershire is a real coup for the club.
"But that experienced head will also me. We haven't had too many especially this year when we lost Gaz (Andrew) to injury and Moeen was away on England duty.
"I was looking around the field thinking who can I ask for a bit of advice. There weren't too many around.
"So yes, he will certainly be a big help to me. He'll be stood next to me at first slip hopefully and it will give me a little bit of help in terms of tactics and the way we are trying to go about our business."