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With temperatures slowly rising and the sun even putting in an occasional cameo, April is upon us, and the Championship with it. Worcestershire's campaign begins tomorrow in Derby, where last season's surprise package look to improve on their resurrection under Mickey Arthur.

They'll be doing so without the talismanic Shan Masood, so crucial to their top order last year, who'll be captaining Yorkshire when he returns from international duty; into his shoes steps young Haider Ali. Yet Wayne Madsen remains, having finished 2022 as Division Two's top scorer with other 1,200 runs to his name, while Anuj Dal - who became only the fourth Derbyshire player to score first-class centuries home and away versus the Pears in one season last year, in addition to taking five-fer at New Road - may well continue to be a thorn in Worcestershire's side. The weather may also have its say: drizzle is forecast overnight, with a further band of heavy rain due to hit Derby around 11am, but if the outfield can be dried quickly then the outlook is good for the remainder of the weekend.

There's an early frustration for the Pears as Dillon Pennington has been omitted from the squad as a precaution, while Gareth Roderick is preferred to Ben Cox as gloveman. Alan Richardson has stated an intention to assess the wicket before settling on a starting XI, and his decision will more than likely involve a choice over whether to include Josh Baker as a spin option, or hand an immediate debut to Adam Hose to address the runs shortfall left by Ed Barnard.


Probable Worcs XI: Libby, Pollock, Ali, Haynes, D'Oliveira, Roderick, Hose/Baker, Waite, Leach, Tongue, Gibbon