WORCESTERSHIRE face a difficult trip to the Ageas Bowl to face Hampshire in their opening game of their 2014 Division Two LV=County Championship campaign.
Daryl Mitchell’s men will be looking to avenge last year’s heavy defeat which saw them lose by an innings and 42 runs after Jimmy Adams notched up a magnificent double century when they visit the Southampton ground on Sunday, April 6.
The Pears first match at New Road sees them take on Kent on Sunday, April 13 followed by a match against Derbyshire a fortnight later.
This year’s twenty20 competition, re-branded the Natwest T20 Blast, gets underway on Friday, May 16 with a trip to Durham, with the fixtures spread over the following weekends until the end of July.
Worcestershire’s first home game sees them take on the reigning champions, Northamptonshire, on Friday, May 30 and rivals Warwickshire visit on Friday, June 20.
A total of five t20 matches are set to take place at home on Friday nights.
A new one day competition called the Royal London One Day Cup starts with a fixture against Essex at New Road on Sunday, July 27.
ECB Chief Executive, David Collier, said: “This schedule has been designed to make the needs of the fans our number one priority.
“With nearly 70 per cent of T20 group matches scheduled for Friday nights, 67 per cent of LV=County Championship matches commencing on a Sunday and a school summer holiday slot for The Royal London One-Day Cup, this schedule meets the demand from fans for regular ‘appointments to view’ across all our domestic competitions.”
“We welcome Royal London to our family of domestic cricket sponsors for the first time and are also excited about the role the NatWest T20 Blast will play in attracting a wider audience to our county game – with Friday nights providing the perfect opportunity for fans to combine a weekend night out with watching cricket.”
