alan richardson paid tribute to the contribution to worcestershire of departing duo martin guptill and travis head – as wayne parnell prepares to arrive as one of their overseas replacements at New Road.
guptill flies out today (monday) for a stint in the caribbean premier league while head will enjoy a brief break in adelaide before linking up with australia a for their tour of india.
but south african all-rounder parnell is set to arrive on tuesday and join forces with the other overseas player, batsman callum ferguson, who has already made a big impact with the county in white ball cricket earlier this summer.
the pair will be available for friday’s vitality blast match with durham jets at New Road (4.30pm start).
head bowling coach richardson, overseeing the rapids squad this week alongside alex gidman while head coach kevin sharp takes the opportunity to watch the seconds in action, said: “we’ve just said our goodbyes to martin and travis and they’ve both added to the culture which is what you always want your overseas players to do
“they can never guarantee you runs or wickets but hopefully they come with a good work ethic, they come with a really good attitude professionally – and they both have done that.
“they have both added a lot of quality to us, a lot of experience, a lot of nous cricket-wise so it’s been great to have them around.
“it will be a real shame that they’ve gone but now we’ve got callum (ferguson) back who has obviously started his worcestershire career brilliantly, a lot of experience as well, and a real calming influence, and we’ve also wayne parnell is coming in.
“he will give us something a little bit different to what we’ve had this year. he is someone with a lot of international experience already.
“he has played in the ipl as well, played around the world and got plenty of experience of t20 leagues. he is someone with quality.
“wayne is someone who can hopefully give us some lower order runs as well. he is a powerful hitter of the ball, a clean striker, it just gives us another all-round package really.
“he has got a bit of pace, he moves the ball around nicely.
“it is quite exciting to have something a little bit difference. it means the balance of the side might be a little bit different but we are happy to make that change.”
