worcestershire ccc first team coach alex gidman is looking to finish the specsavers county championship campaign on a high and says the planning has already started for next season.
the county wrap up their championship campaign against sussex at the 1st central county ground from tomorrow (10.30am start) as they look to bounce back from their gallant and proud defence of the vitality blast title which went to the very last ball on finals day.
gidman has learnt much about the players at New Road during his first full year at the helm.
he said: “naturally it is going to be quite tough to get the lads up and at them for that game but once we’ve got over this (the blast) we will travel down in the afternoon and will pick ourselves up and try and finish the red ball season on a high with a good team performance and some good individual performances.
“there is one week left, it’s been a long old slog but we are nearly there and it will be great to finish on a high in the red ball campaign.
“we will take down as strong a team as possible. i’ve done so much learning about the players this year that, for me, the planning for next year has started already.
“we are constantly driving the same messages. the game isn’t changing. it’s about executing the skills over long periods of time with bat and ball.
“until the laws of the game change, that’s how you play the game. there is no hiding place and we need to continually drive towards achieving that.
“that was the plan for last week, this week and will be exactly the same next week (at hove) and next season will come around before we can shake a leg.
“we all know how quick the winters go.”
gidman says it is important for the younger players to learn from their current first team experiences.
he said: “it’s great to have them playing. we want them playing. it’s a massive part of this cricket club but we’ve got to make sure we are improving.
“what you want to see as coaches, members and supporters is improvement from the younger players.”
