WORCESTERSHIRE may be thousands of miles from his native Zimbabwe -- but Ray Price is settled and loving life in his adopted county.

Spinner Price enjoyed a fruitful first full season at New Road -- earning the one-day player of the year award -- and he admits events on-and-off the pitch could not be sweeter.

It is 20 months since the 29-year-old appeared in a Test match for his home country, following the player dispute that rocked Zimbabwe cricket.

Amid the row, the County took advantage of the Kolpak ruling to sign Price on a two-year deal last August.

It was a masterstroke move, as Price's abilities with the ball proved one of the few bright spots in an otherwise miserable 2005 campaign for Worcestershire.

The left-arm spinner, nephew of the major-winning golfer Nick Price, is now looking forward to ending his career with the County as he works towards qualifying for England under the residency rule.

"I'm proud to play at Worcestershire and I would like to finish my career here," said Price. "There's another four years until I can qualify as a British player.

"This was my first year of county cricket and I really wanted to do well.

"It's a great place to play cricket and my family loves it. With international cricket, I travelled a lot and was spending too much time away from my family.

"My daughter is only seven months old and so it's nice to spend some time with the family. The county season is really good to me in that way and the club looks after me.

"We really like it in Worcester. It's such a pretty place, people are friendly and it's not a big city like Birmingham. It's easy to get to know the place."

While Harare-born Price has developed an affinity with the 'Faithful City', County supporters have reciprocated all season-long in their fondness for him.

There is always a cheer when he takes the ball at New Road. Price's attitude, work ethic and end product is a combination that sits well with spectators.

"That's fantastic, but all the players get good support," added Price. "It may be the way we play cricket.

"We try really hard and I think the members are quite happy with that. It's not just about the results, as long as you are trying your best.

"It's nice to play at home when you get support like that. Also, when you go away from home, you do feel that the supporters are not there. But we've a group of supporters that travel and we appreciate the help they give us.

"We hope we can now pay back the supporters that have given us support in both leagues. We've got a good enough team to bounce back."

Price picked up his one-day award for a string of consistent performances in the totesport League.

His best figures of 4-21 helped flatten Nottinghamshire in May and he took 19 one-day league wickets in total, although it was the Zimbabwean's economy rate of 3.66 per over that tipped the honour in his favour.

He added: "The club put a lot of faith in me while I had all my problems. I've had a good season and it's nice to reward Worcestershire in this way.

"I always aim to make a difference. If you can take wickets and keep the economy rate down, it really puts the pressure on opposing teams. I think a lot of the success I get is from what I learned playing international cricket."