Pears getting stronger despite drop - Richardson

Alan Richardson took 254 wickets in 60 first-class matches as a player for Worcestershire

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson says his side are in a stronger position now despite relegation from County Championship Division One.

The Pears finished 41 points adrift at the bottom of the table and picked up a single win from 14 matches as their two-year stay in the top flight came to an end.

Richardson took over as head coach in November 2022 and guided Worcestershire to promotion in his first season.

He believes his side are continuing to make progress with the red ball.

"Our performances, despite where we've ended up, have been really strong at times," he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"The way that the team operate has been great and there have been some really challenging circumstances on the pitch this year. They've stuck together really well.

"I look at it and ask 'are we a stronger team than probably two years ago?' I think we probably are, but the results haven't quite shown that. So that's something that we have to build on again."

In a campaign of contrasts, Worcestershire won their first piece of silverware in seven years when they lifted the One-Day Cup, just days after relegation was confirmed.

"You play three completely different formats, and so success in one, doesn't mean that you'll do particularly well in the others," Richardson said.

"We haven't won too much in our very long, proud history, so the players and all the support staff should be extremely proud of being part of that.

"But part of our journey was to try and stabilise ourselves in Division One, and we haven't been able to do that."