Date-stamped : 02 May96 - 14:16 Worcestershire:Rhodes and company face bumpy journey By Mike Beddow THE summers are rolling by for the stalwarts who brought unpre- cedented success to Worcestershire. This is a benefit season for the first of four players who were capped in 1986. Steve Rhodes has called his year "Bumpy`s Benefit", but for the county it could be a journey over bumpy roads of a different kind. The concern is not so much for those who contributed hugely to the annexing of all four major trophies in the period 1987-94. At 31, Rhodes is no more representative of a declining side than the possible beneficiaries of subsequent years - Phil Newport, Richard Illingworth and Graeme Hick. They will continue to be integral components in a unit that is highly proficient in one-day cricket but sometimes limited in the art of winning championship matches. Over the last four seasons they belly-flopped to 17th and 15th, but also finished second in 1993. Last year`s 10th place was possibly a more accurate measure of expectations until a long-standing problem is resolved. They have yet to successfully replace bowlers of the quality of Graham Dilley and Neal Radford, the latter now in retirement with a parting gift of #197,447 from a record benefit for the county. Last season brought some encourage- ment with the discovery of Birmingham-born Paul Thomas, who was sharp enough to unsettle West Indian batsmen on a spectacular debut, but the recruitment drive was also marred by tragedy with the sudden death of Parvaz Mirza. Only a week earlier, he had taken part in a rain-aborted fi- nal fixture which cost Worcestershire a chance of winning the AXA Equity & Law League, a competition in which he captured 17 wickets in 65 overs and became an essential team member. To replace Parvaz and, to a lesser degree, Radford, who was winding down last year with eight championship appearances, Worcestershire have brought in Alamgir Sheriyar from Leicestershire. His pedigree is exceptional after a hat-trick on his championship debut in 1994. His potential will now come under greater scrutiny. "He`s the quickest we`ve had since Dilley, and he`s learning to do something with the ball," An improvement in championship form is likely to depend on the development of Thomas or Sheriyar - and preferably both - in support of the consistent campaigners, Newport and Stuart Lam- pitt. Otherwise the seam attack would be as bare as at any time since the doldrums of the early 1980s. Yet there are grounds for optimism, according to Rhodes, who has captained the side - a stand-in appointment prior to Tom Moody`s return from Australia - during the pre-season prepara- tions in Barbados. Wicketkeeper Rhodes is impressed by Thomas`s ability to get the ball into the gloves with a real smack. "He`s the quickest we`ve had since Dilley, and he`s learning to do something with the ball," he said. "There were times when nothing would go right for him last year, but if he gets his share of luck, he`ll reap the rewards. "Losing Parvaz was a big blow, but the signing of Sheriyar is a very positive step. He`s quite lively and, being left-arm over, he will give more variety and balance." If Worcestershire have to look elsewhere, and their hand of four seamers is hardly sufficient cover for injuries, they will be hoping for progress by James Brinkley, the Anglo- Australian who took six for 98 on his debut two years ago, Ben Preece, the second team`s leading bowler last year, and univer- sity student Scott Ellis, an England Under-19 all-rounder. The county would also like to find more turning pitches for Illingworth and Hick. When they did have one at New Road last season, the England bowlers polished off Leicestershire with nine wickets in a second-innings total of 83. England calls are a discriminatory factor in this department, though a promising alternative is offered by Vikram Solanki, not only with his off-breaks but with a style of batting that can be identified with his Indian culture. Scoring runs is not one of Worcestershire`s hang-ups. In a good year, Hick, Moody and Tim Curtis would be expected to average 50 or more, and when it comes to one-day games, they are as prolific and destructive a trio as any in the country. David Leatherdale and Gavin Haynes are also capable of cross- ing the 1,000 threshold LAST season, Rhodes and the left-handed opener, Philip Wes- ton, scored 1,000 first-class runs for the first time. Weston has the capacity to make this a minimum requirement and, in Sunday cricket, he has added a new dimension as a forceful middle-order player. David Leatherdale and Gavin Haynes are also capable of cross- ing the 1,000 threshold and, irrespective of their batting form, they have other important roles to perform. Leather- dale brings athletic brilliance to his fielding in the covers and Haynes is a valuable medium-pacer, often a partnership-breaker in the championship and an economical new-ball bowler on Sundays. If all these parts are to come to fruition - and the pace bowling is rather too suspect for fanciful predictions - Wor- cestershire will need to exploit their strengths, one of which is strong and imaginative leadership. David Houghton, returning for his second year as county coach, has again scored a Test century for Zimbabwe during the southern hemisphere summer, and Moody has been captaining Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield. Houghton is dedicated to making the club`s younger players more competitive and better prepared and, at first-team level, Moo- dy carries the full support of the dressing room. As Rhodes says: "When he picked up the captaincy halfway through last season, everybody responded to him. He always makes it clear what he is trying do." Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)