County Championship Preview: Worcestershire
Worcestershire fell out of the promotion picture earlier but had a good end to the season to finish 4th. Can they get back to Division One this year?
Worcestershire have had a refresh after both Moeen Ali and Ed Barnard went to Warwickshire but they have brought in Adam Hose who had a breakout year at Warwickshire as well as Young fast bowler Matt Waite from Yorkshire as he looks to establish himself in a 1st team. Last year they had Gareth Roderick average a mammoth 74 with the bat scoring 477 runs and as the Wicketkeeper he will be assured of his place.
In their captain and lead Spinner they have a historic family name for Worcestershire and in World Cricket with Brett D’Olivera, Grandson of Basil who was the catalyst that lead to South Africa getting suspended from International Cricket, but Brett is good batter scoring 768 runs at 59 last season.
On the bowling side they had Matt Waite on loan last year and he took 12 wickets at 18 and there has to be hope that Joe Leach and Dillon Pennington can have repeat seasons with both averaging 22 with the ball.
There are also several young players to watch out for in Jake Libby and Ed Pollock at the top who look to build on their impressive past couple of seasons. Bringing back Azhar Ali just after his international retirement helps bolster them at the top where they could be weak.
Predicted Line-Up:
Jake Libby
Ed Pollock
Azhar Ali
Adam Hose
Jack Haynes
Brett D’Olivera
Gareth Roderick (WK)
Matthew Waite
Joe Leach
Dillon Pennington
Ben Gibbon
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