Worcestershire bowling coach Matt Mason praised the impact of West Indian paceman Shannon Gabriel as Middlesex were routed for 98 on day one of the LV = County Championship match at New Road.
Gabriel finished with figures of 5-31 on his home debut, bowling with great hostility during his two spells.
Worcestershire then replied with 79-1 by the close of the Division One encounter.
Mason, who is also the County's assistant coach, said: "A terrific day with the ball. I really enjoyed sitting up on the balcony watching it. It was great to see.
"It just showed me what an injection of pace can do to an attack. Shannon bowled terrifically well and just put batters under pressure.
"That extra pace opens up the other end a little for our other bowlers. We stayed patient. At times we haven’t done that in the last month.
"Shannon is right up there in terms of pace. I know at Durham last week the umpires said he was as fast as anything they had seen from Mitchell Johnson or Mitchell Starc.
"What’s been impressive is he hasn’t played any first-class cricket for a few months, So to come in and do what he has done is really good."
Mason added: "I’d like to see what he’s doing next summer. The problem these days with overseas players is that the international calendar is so busy and obviously he’s in in the West Indies squad. But never say never. We might look at it."
