ON-SONG Stephen Peters has an added incentive to impress when Worcestershire open their Frizzell Championship Division Two match against Essex at New Road tomorrow.

The 23-year-old joined the County on a three-year contract from Essex during the close-season and has already chalked up 317 runs at an average of 63.40.

New Road Director of Cricket Tom Moody said today: "He's started the season off well for us. I'm sure he'll be keen to carry his form into this match."

Peters, who has forged a solid opening partnership with Anurag Singh, cracked a career-best 146 in the County's drawn game against Northamptonshire at North-ampton last month.

County skipper Graeme Hick, meanwhile, is hoping the forthcoming match will spark an upturn in his run-scoring fortunes, having mustered only single figures in his last three innings.

He said: "I always put myself under my own pressure as far a scoring runs goes. I'm disappointed not to have a hundred under my belt yet.

"I got 90 in the first game, but there's a lot of matches left and I'm delighted to see the way some of the other Worcestershire players have held their hand up and are scoring runs.

"There is competition for places and they certainly want to keep their places."

Worcestershire will remain unchanged from the side which suffered their first Championship defeat of the season on Saturday when they lost by 110 runs against Glamorgan at New Road.

The County's two casualties pacemen Matt Mason and Chris Liptrot are both on the mend.

Liptrot is recovering from a back strain while Mason should have overcome a shoulder niggle in time to play in Worcestershire's Second Eleven Championship match against Yorkshire which opens at Barnt Green tomorrow.

Worcs: Peters, Singh, Hick, Smith, Solanki, Leatherdale, Batty, Bichel, Rhodes, Kabir Ali, Sheriyar.