First Team Coach Alex Gidman says Worcestershire will be “prepared as we possibly can for every game of cricket” during the 2019 season.
Gidman stressed the importance of consistency as the County 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.
The former Gloucestershire captain and Assistant Coach-Bowling Coach Alan Richardson are hoping to repeat the success in the four-day game they achieved last summer in the Vitality Blast.
They are also aware of being ready for a new-look start to the season with the Royal London One-Day Cup taking centre-stage after an initial round of Championship cricket.
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.
“All I can say is, and I mean this, is that we will practice and be as prepared as we possibly can be for every game of cricket, whether it is red ball, white ball, and we will be trying our utmost, to compete, and give ourselves a really good chance of achieving our goals.”
Gidman says the pre-season 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.
He said: “It really is important, even more so with the white ball competition starting so early.
“If teams aren’t careful, one of our three competitions could be over before you shake a leg.
“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.”
Gidman is aware of the need to strike the balance between being the ‘boss’ as First Team Coach, spending and enjoying time with the players and giving them their own space.
He said: “I started to learn that when I was captain (at Gloucestershire). You have to learn how to distance yourself when you are a captain.
“I actually think as a coach it is even more straightforward. I left being a player behind a while back now. I don’t miss playing at all. I’m now a coach and that is as simple as that.
“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.”
