PEARS first team coach Alex Gidman has preached the importance of consistency as Worcestershire begin the final countdown in their preparations for a busy 2019 season.
The county will look to try and regain their Division One spot in the Specsavers County Championship at the first attempt in addition to challenging for more white ball glory.
It will be the first season at the helm for the former Gloucestershire skipper who together with assistant coach and bowling coach Alan Richardson is hoping to repeat the success in the four-day game they achieved last summer in the Vitality Blast.
Gidman said: “The beauty of our Championship cricket is that the teams who get promoted deserve it over the course of the year. It is like winning the Premier League in football. You need to perform consistently over a season to stand a chance of success.
“Naturally, anyone would say getting off to a good start is going to help and the old adage of getting points on the board is no different in cricket. However, you can never predict what is going to happen in our game.
“This year is slightly different with the World Cup and the Ashes. I think we only play one Championship game and the University game before the Royal London One-Day Cup.
“It is going to be a bit of a tricky one because it won’t really feel as if the season has got going in terms of red ball cricket until mid-end of May which is extremely late,” he added.
Next month’s trip to Abu Dhabi will take on even more significance than usual given the weight of One-Day Cup fixtures so early in the campaign, according to Gidman.
“If teams aren’t careful, one of our three competitions could be over before you shake a leg,” he said.
“If you don’t start that competition well, it could be finished and a third of your season could be gone before the end of April which is unheard of.
“It is going to be an important tour and we will make the most of it and use it the best that we can.”
The respected coach made the leap to first team coach during a reshuffle off the field during the winter and is aware of the need to give players their own space in the dressing room.
“I started to learn that when I was captain. I actually think as a coach it is even more straightforward. I left being a player behind a while back now,” he said.
“I think it is constantly an art keeping that distance and knowing when to. I will make mistakes but hopefully I will get it right most of the time.
“It is important you enjoy time with the lads but they also need space as do I, as does Alan as well, and I think we will get that right most of the time.”