PEARS head coach Alex Gidman believes Worcestershire CCC will have competition for batting places “as good as there is in the country” with recent signing Gareth Roderick set to link up with the squad for winter training in early November.
The 29-year-old put pen to paper in early July on a three-year deal until the end of the 2023 campaign at New Road before completing the summer with Gloucestershire.
He will further strengthen a group who topped the 400 mark in three of the first four games in the Bob Willis Trophy – a competition in which six Worcestershire players averaged over 40.
Gidman said: “I know Gareth well having played with him at Gloucestershire.
“He is excited about joining Worcestershire and looking forward to the new challenge. He adds more batting quality to our group, which is great.
“The competition for places now is probably as good as there is in the country, which is what we’ve been striving for.
“He will add another dimension, and we are looking forward to having him around.
“He’s got a very exciting few weeks. He and his partner are having their first child anytime now which is great for them and, once things have settled down a bit, he will link up with us and get cracking.‘’
The County squad are currently recharging their batteries after a hectic two-month spell of cricket which included 28 days action spanning a 51 day period.
Gidman said: “We played a lot less cricket in terms of matches but, because it was so condensed and they were travelling using their own transport after long days or T20 cricket under lights, it all adds up.
“They were actually a really tired group at the end of the season which is completely understandable. Although it has been shorter, mentally, they feel like they’ve had a lot of cricket which is great from that point of view.
“But they’ve already said how excited they will be when they start back again in November.”