It's a month later than was once the norm, but this week sees the Australians returning to New Road.

Just as well for the delay, given the state of the ground back in April.

There may be a lot of Aussies playing in county cricket but familiarity does not breed contempt in their case; they remain the touring side which everyone wants to see and to lose this fixture to the weather would have been a disaster.

With the Australian connection through Moody, Bichel and McGrath it should be a harmonious three days, but I don't suppose it'll be any easier on the pitch; that's not the Australian way.

The ultimate test, I suppose, would be if Glenn McGrath were to give Graeme Hick the searing verbal attack which tends to complement his bowling. There is no doubt he would receive it were he playing for England.

In reality, with Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie only passing late fitness tests to make the tour, I would expect them to play at McGrath's expense.

Lee comes with the reputation of being as fast, if not faster than, Shoaib Akhtar. Gillespie is not slow. Together they form the sort of thrilling opening attack which can make cricket so compelling.

Gough and Caddick were inspirational in the first test against Pakistan. This Ashes series should be one to savour.

Michael Slater, the Australian opener, had a good look at England's opening attack while commentating at Lord's. One must hope that what he saw put some doubt in his mind.

I have a vivid memory of his unbridled delight on scoring a hundred there against England on his first visit.

Yet he is one Australian who did not flourish in county cricket, enjoying only moderate success with Derbyshire. The others are well proven.

Dare we hope that this is one tour too many for Shane Warne? Even if it is, the pace attack looks awesome and I look forward to viewing it at first hand this week.

The one-day win against Derbyshire last week ended a poor sequence. Matt Rawnsley played a significant part and there were welcome runs for Vikram Solanki.

His 'A' tour to the West Indies had been going well until injuring a finger. Who knows where he might have stood in the queue to fill England's batting vacancy at Old Trafford were it not for that.

There will be mixed feelings for Graeme Hick, assuming he is overlooked, but he will at least be spared the ritually crass outpourings from the media which have invariably accompanied the question of his selection.

The arrival of the Aussies marks a departure with Mike Vockins leaving the post he has occupied for 31 years as Worcestershire's administrative chief.

As players we were always dubious about his geographical skills; when it came to calculating expenses places like Nottingham seemed to suddenly move closer to Worcester than was our experience in driving there!

However, he has been as firmly behind Worcestershire as any of the players during a long and prosperous period for the county.

He has put a huge amount into the game of cricket during that time and I'm sure all supporters of Worcestershire will wish him well while welcoming Mark Newton, his successor at New Road.