THERE'S a new woman at Worcestershire County Cricket Club this season, so we'll get all the jokes about maidens, slips and fine legs out of the way to start with.

They probably go down as well with Jodi Brandwood as cauliflower cheese, which she lists among her pet hates.

For Jodi is now the face of the club's commercial department, having taken over from Ellie Underwood, who pulled stumps at the end of last season after 18 years at New Road. Born in Worcester, Jodi attended Nunnery Wood High School and in 1997 after training in business and administration at Worcester Royal Infirmary, joined Worcester-based accountancy firm Rabjohns as receptionist and PA, working her way up to become marketing co-ordinator.

She then spent a year in Australia, and on her return, rejoined the staff at WRI as medical secretary in the physiotherapy department before becoming PA to the managing director of local design company Blueprint.

It was then she decided to make use of her marketing skills again and tackle a new challenge in the form of events and hospitality sales executive at WCCC. Aged 28, Jodi arrives at the club full of enthusiasm for her new role and has already started to make contact with corporate clients across the county and beyond. "Since joining the club I have spent some time introducing myself to existing clients and contacts and I am pleased to have been given such a warm welcome," she said. Ellie set such a high standard of maintaining relationships with corporate clients and I hope I can continue to build on the foundations she laid. It makes my job that little bit easier that the club has such a good reputation for their catering and hospitality facilities." Jodi has certainly chosen an action-packed year in which to begin her WCCC career. Along with hosting the corporate hospitality facilities as Sri Lanka come face to face with England 'A' in the first game of its kind and West Indies 'A' take on Worcestershire, there are the ever-popular Twenty20 fixtures and floodlit game against local rivals, Gloucestershire.

"I'm really looking forward to my first season at the club," Jodi added, "and I am pleased I have started my role early in the year before the fun begins.Of course, one of the biggest events will be the Elton John concert on June 11. "In previous roles I have organised conferences and seminars but never anything as big as this," she said.

"It's an amazing event for the city and I am really looking forward to taking on the challenge and being part of it. It has been amazing to see how well the concert has been received by the public and ticket sales have been astounding."

Appropriately, among her pet "likes", Jodi lists "long summer days". Looks like she'll be having plenty of them.