The only way is up for Rhodes

Steve Rhodes is keen to ensure Worcestershire get eight points at Kidderminster

Buy this photo

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes knows that Division One is firmly in his team’s sights as they head into their last week of the season.

Worcestershire currently sit on top of the LV County Championship Division Two table, but have played one more game than nearest rivals Warwickshire.

They are also due to be in the play-off for the NatWest Pro40, which would confirm or otherwise their Division One status for next year.

But it is the championship which Rhodes’ team will be keen to concentrate on securing first, when they play Middlesex at Kidderminster this week.

“We need eight points to secure promotion,” Rhodes told ecb.co.uk. “It’s as simple as that.”

“We need to try to get ourselves in a good position and if we do that then first we can get the points and then we can ram home the victory charge.”

Warwickshire are set to lock horns with Essex, with both teams chasing promotion in a match which could also determine Worcestershire’s final position in the table.

“Obviously I am going to be making sure that the team are totally focused on our game,” Rhodes admitted. “But there is no harm in myself, off the field, keeping an eye on what is happening at Chelmsford. It will be a tough game for both teams.”

Worcestershire were relegated at the end of last season and Rhodes is keen to ensure they atone for that at the first attempt, whether it be in first or second place.

“The title is nice because you don’t want to be second,” he confirmed. “But the bigger goal at the start of the year was to be promoted.

“When you play Division Two cricket you don’t really want to be there because you know there is another tier to go to.

“That is what I enjoy about there being two divisions. Anyone who is in Division Two should be doing something about it rather than just sitting there and accepting that they are in Division Two.

Worcestershire's headquarters at New Road was flooded with two weeks of the season remaining

“You need to get out there and play some good cricket and make sure you are playing at the highest standard you can be, which is obviously first division.”

Worcestershire have won six of the 15 games they have played this season, which is more than any other team in Division Two, something which Rhodes thinks has bred confidence in his squad.

“We managed to string together some victories close together in three days and that certainly helped our cause,” he said.

“In a lot of the games that have been rain-affected we have had the upper hand. You could argue that it has saved a lot of teams playing against us as we have had them staring down the barrel, but it also saved us in one game that we were struggling in a bit ourselves. It is swings and roundabouts.”

Rain has played havoc for much of the summer, but New Road - which flooded in June last year - had been largely safe until the deluge a couple of weeks ago meant the river burst its banks once more.

“It has affected our preparations because obviously we haven’t been able to practise at New Road,” Rhodes said. “But having said that, the county Worcestershire and the Kidderminster club have done a wonderful job.

“We have a deal in place with Kidderminster in that we give them 48 hours notice to put on a game. It has been wonderful this year as they have turned it around very quickly.

“There have even been people there this morning painting it and making it look nice for tomorrow’s four-day game.”

At the end of those four days, Worcestershire will be hoping that there will be more champagne being splashed about Kidderminster than paint.