Alex Gidman joins Worcestershire coaching set-up

Worcestershire have completed the restructure of their coaching team with the appointment of Alex Gidman as 2nd XI coach.

Gidman, who spent the bulk of his career at Gloucestershire, joined Worcestershire for the last year of his playing career in 2015 and, as well as developing his coaching skills, has subsequently studied psychology and neuro-linguistic programming. Combined with his experience of leadership - he captained Gloucestershire for four years - and his abilities as an allrounder good enough to score more than 11,000 first-class runs and represent England Lions, he offers a strong package of skills and knowledge.

Worcestershire's coaching set-up has changed radically since they gained promotion in September. Steve Rhodes, the long-serving director of cricket, was sacked after concealing the arrest of young player Alex Hepburn from the club management, before his assistant, Matt Mason, decided upon a fresh start at Leicestershire. Kevin Sharp was promoted from his role as 2nd XI coach to the head coach role and Alan Richardson, something of a Worcestershire legend after an outstanding spell as a seamer with the team, re-joined the club as bowling coach.

Worcestershire also have a new chief executive after Tom Scott stepped down and was replaced by former player Matt Rawnsley.

"I'm delighted for us and for Alex," Sharp said. "He quite clearly wants to get back into the game as a coach. He made that very clear in his interview.

"He is a wise man, he is a smart man, he has got captaincy experience, he is an outside-of-the-box thinker, he sometimes thinks of things others wouldn't think if and I've always enjoyed that in Alex.

"He will complement our coaching team and bring a dynamic to it, a way of thinking, that will challenge us. That is just brilliant. The lads will be delighted with his appointment. It will motivate the group enormously."

Gidman was appointed as captain of the England Lions side for their 2003-04 tour of India and Malaysia but was forced to withdraw through injury. He was also named in England's preliminary squad for the 2004 Champions Trophy. He worked as a coach with the MCC Young Cricketers last summer, having been forced to retire at the end of 2015 due to a finger injury.

"I'm very happy and really excited and looking forward to starting with the group and hopefully assisting them in achieving their team and personal goals," Gidman said. "Getting back into the professional game was always something I'd have liked to have done. Opportunities don't come around very often and I didn't want to rely on that happening and I've put in a lot of work and learnt a lot in order to try and make myself a better coach.

"I've learn a lot away from cricket, which I think has been very helpful and developed me as a person and a coach. So once this opportunity came up, I gave it a go and felt I was in a good position to offer something to the group and I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity.

"I built some good relationships with the players when I was playing but that was a long time ago now. A lot has changed. I've changed as a person and this is a completely different role. However, it's nice to have an understanding of some of the players' characters and technical work. It's a really exciting opportunity."

Worcestershire vice-chairman Tim Curtis, who has headed up the team making new appointments at the club since the departure of Rhodes, said: "It is a really outstanding appointment with real potential to add quality to the whole coaching set-up. He is a person with a hunger for learning and understanding as much about what makes people be successful and thrive under pressure.

"He is delighted to be back at Worcestershire. Obviously his spell here and his career was cut short through injury but he is relishing working at the club in a different capacity."