Alan Richardson's preview of the early season fixtures

According to Worcestershire Head Coach Alan Richardson, achieving the right balance in the team will be crucial during the first seven Vitality County Championship matches in eight weeks.

Richardson is aware that the conditions will differ significantly between the first two games, which will be played with Kookaburra balls against Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire, and the following back-to-back games at Kidderminster, where a Dukes ball will be used against Durham and Somerset.

But he was pleased with the team's training sessions at Chester Road this week, with the squad reunited after a number of players returned from their winter destinations.

Worcestershire begin their pre-season programme at Kidderminster. They will play Durham UCCE over three days.

Worcestershire has announced a 13-player squad for the Durham UCCE fixture, with Jake Libby as the skipper.

The squad includes newcomers Rob Jones, Tom Taylor, Ethan Brookes, and Yadvinder Singh, as well as Matthew Waite and Adam Finch, who missed the tail-end of last season due to injury.

Worcestershire team:
Jake Libby
Gareth Roderick
Kashif Ali
Rob Jones
Ed Pollock
Tom Taylor
Ethan Brookes
Matthew Waite
Henry Cullen
Josh Baker
Adam Finch
Ben Gibbon
Yadvinder Singh