THERE'S just no stopping Graeme Hick this season.

Worcestershire's master batsman has already piled up far more first-class runs than he did last year - and he's enjoying every minute of it!

But that's not really surprising - particularly after the painful memories of 2003 when he suffered the longest lay-off of his illustrious career through injury.

He was sidelined with a broken hand sustained in a National League Division One match against Glamorgan at Swansea on June 8 and was ruled out until July 23.

The lay-off restricted him to just 670 first-class runs in 23 innings - a total he comfortably eclipsed during last week's Frizzell County Championship Division One match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston when he notched the 125th first-class ton of his career.

Certainly this year it's been a totally different story to last summer with runs flooding from his bat as he successfully makes up for lost time.

He said: "I've set my sights this year to try and make the most of the opportunities I get and once I've got myself in, not necessarily give it away and get out.

"Last year I got to 20 or 30 and just got out, but this year I've just tried to get myself focused and knuckle down a bit more and get back to the part of batting I enjoy - trying to make big hundreds."

And that's exactly what he did against the New Zealanders and in the recent Championship victory over Gloucestershire.

Firstly, he battered the tourists with an undefeated 204 and then in his next innings at New Road stacked up 262 off the Gloucestershire attack.

It lifted his career tally of double centuries to 14 for Worcestershire and 16 in total.

Hick, in 11th place in the all-time list of century-makers just one behind W.G. Grace, said: "I didn't enjoy last year at all.

"It was the first time I'd been injured during the middle of summer for that period of time and when I came back I was just trying to play catch-up all the time. I didn't give myself a chance of getting in.

"Wherever we went I maybe chased after a few things too early and was a little bit too anxious to catch up to everyone else.

"It was that and maybe a couple of things which I've hopefully ironed out over the winter.

"But the biggest disappointment was missing eight weeks in the middle of the season."

Hick, who celebrated his 38th birthday recently, admits that the New Road ground is still one of his favourites - and he certainly proved it with his double century displays against the Kiwis and Gloucestershire.

"I love batting at Worcester," said the County record-breaker whose 417 runs stand for the third wicket with skipper Ben Smith against Gloucestershire was the highest ever at New Road.

It just fell short of Worcestershire's all-time record achieved by Hick and the club's current director of cricket Tom Moody who figured in an unbeaten partnership worth 438 against Hampshire at Southampton in 1997.

And with Hick in such devastating form this season it's not surprising that his legion of fans are delighted to see him back in the free-scoring groove - including his team-mates.

Paceman Matt Mason has witnessed at first-hand, Hick's handiwork and reveals the worldwide impact of his batting feats.

"When I tell people back in Australia that I play alongside Graeme Hick they immediately know who I'm talking about. He's just a legend.

"We have stepped up a division in the Championship and he's still creaming some of the opposition attacks."