CRICKET fans in Wyre Forest are preparing to descend on Worcestershire's New Road ground to watch former Kidderminster batsman Graeme Hick and his team-mates open their big-hit exploits in the hugely popular Twenty20 Cup.

The county have around 700 members based in the area, plus hundreds more supporters who regularly make the short trip to watch their New Road heroes in action.

And, according to the club's chief executive Mark Newton, they can't wait for Hick and Co to launch their Twenty20 Cup campaign next Wednesday with a home clash against the "old enemy" Warwickshire.

Although Chester Road is not now used as a venue for championship matches, Worcestershire have maintained a welcome link with Kidderminster, who last month hosted the county's first-class friendly against Loughborough UCCE.

Newton said: "Our connection with the Kidderminster club is still very strong. There were a lot of first-class matches at Chester Road, but we haven't played championship cricket there for a few years and probably won't in the near future.

"That's got nothing to do with the people of Kidderminster who have been fantastic and the wicket there, as everybody knows, if terrific. It's just the infrastructure that's required now for first-class cricket is so big, electronically more than anything else, that it's very hard and very expensive to go to an out-ground. But, there again, we have got such fabulous facilities at New Road we would rather use it."

Chester Road has not been the venue for championship cricket since 2002, when Nottinghamshire were the visitors, while the county's last one-day game there - against Northamptonshire in the Benson and Hedges Cup - was in 2001.

Overall, Chester Road has hosted 63 championship games, the first being against Glamorgan in 1921.

The county's first limited-over encounter at Kidderminster was against Middlesex in the old John Player Sunday League in 1969.

Newton said: "Some people say 'well you are a little bit divorced from the north of the county when you play at New Road.' We used to play at a lot of places around the county, but don't do so any more, primarily for economic reasons. And also, of course, because we have one of the prettiest grounds in the country."

Wyre Forest cricket enthusiasts have followed the national trend and been captivated by the crash-bang-wallop entertainment Twenty20 Cup action provides.

Newton said: "It's a bigger success than I thought it would be straight away. But I knew it would be a huge success in time and so far so good.

"Inevitably, to start off with, you get people who are probably within walking distance of work. But what was noticeable last year was how many more families were coming along.

"They clearly planned for it in advance. They picked up the kids from school with the picnic ready and came along to New Road from all our outlying areas around Worcester like Kidderminster, Stourport and Bewdley.

"It's great fun. The traditionalists still slightly turn their nose up at it but many ways that is good because it leaves more room for families and the youngsters who do want to come along."

Last season Hick, almost inevitably, was Worcestershire's leading run-scorer in the Twenty20 Cup campaign with 199 runs from six innings.

Many thousands of runs have dripped off his bat since he played for Kidderminster in 1984 when he was driven to the ground for his first Birmingham League game by another former Chester Road campaigner, the legendary Basil D'Oliveira who was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours which were announced last Saturday.