AUSSIE batsman Phil Jaques is backing his New South Wales team-mate Doug Bollinger to make a big impression on Worcestershire's supporters.

Left-arm paceman Bollinger has had a stop-start beginning to his New Road career because of a hip injury and a side strain, but Jaques is convinced it won't be long before his fellow overseas player is back in action and among the wickets.

Jaques, who hit a sparkling hundred in the recent Friends Provident Trophy defeat to Nottinghamshire, said: "Doug is such a whole-hearted player, it really hurts him when he misses games.

"He really does give 100 per cent every time he goes out on the park.

"I think the fans will enjoy watching Doug when he gets back fully fit and I'm sure they'll take a liking to him.

"He swings the ball and bowls at a lively pace too, so I think he'll do well for Worcestershire."

Not only have the County had to cope without Bollinger in the last few weeks, but fellow paceman Matt Mason has not yet featured this season because of a shoulder injury and Jaques feels their absence has been crucial.

He added: "If you take two of your best bowlers out of the team it is going to hurt the side, but hopefully Matt and Doug can come back soon and come back well too.

"Hopefully, when we get them back, we can keep them on the park for the rest of the year. Once we get our full complement of bowlers back on deck, we'll be a lot more competitive and hopefully get some positive results under our belts."

From a personal point of view, Jaques feels like he is approaching his best form and that showed with the way he batted against Notts.

He said: "I was delighted for myself to get a hundred. I tried to set myself to bat through the innings and be a bit more positive than I have been.

"But the team's result was of the utmost importance and it was really disappointing to lose - you could see that on everyone's faces.

"We thought we had enough runs but we got beaten by two pretty good players who probably out-played our batters.

"It was hard to hit through the ball because it was spinning a lot and quite slow too.

"We thought we maybe had 15 or 20 more than we needed, but that's cricket. Sometimes you get a couple of guys who get set and get in.

"David Hussey and Mark Wagh played really well, though.

"They didn't let the run-rate get to them and they chipped the ball around nicely. Then Hussey cleared the rope a couple of times at the end and made it a foregone conclusion. Now we need to make more runs - particualrly in the four-day games.

"If we can do that it will take a lot of the heat off our bowlers, especially while we are under-strength in that department.

"If we can start making some runs in the championship, I think the season will turn around.

"Hopefully we can make some big scores over the next few weeks."