DARYL Mitchell admits he is happy to bide his time at Worcestershire and let his runs do the talking.

The 23-year-old has been in great form this season and is hoping to force his way into contention by sheer weight of runs.

The Evesham-born batting all-rounder, who has been with Worcestershire since joining the County's academy as a 16-year-old, has scored three centuries in his last three innings.

Several first-team regulars have found runs at a premium so far this term and the calls for Mitchell - and fellow youngster Moeen Ali - to be given a run in the side are getting louder all the time.

However, level-headed Mitchell isn't interested in benefiting from his team-mates' poor form, prefering to earn his place in the side on merit.

He said: "I am a Worcestershire lad through and through and, first and foremost, I want to see the side performing well.

"I am happy to bide my time and hopefully I will earn a regular place in the first team.

"I plan to just continue getting my runs and I will grab my chance in the first team with both hands when it comes along.

"I've had a decent start to the season - I scored a hundred against Loughborough for the first team, then another one for Halesowen in the Birmingham League and also in the seconds game against Somerset recently.

"I am just concentrating on what I'm doing. I want to keep scoring runs and knocking on the door of the first team."

Not content with simply piling on the runs for the seconds and in club cricket, Mitchell also works hard on his bowling in an effort to become a genuine all-rounder.

He added: "I have been working on my bowling with Damien D'Oliveira, trying to put on an extra yard of pace.

"I have been trying to improve my action by attacking the crease and trying to use my front arm a bit more.

"I see my bowling as an extra string to my bow, but batting is my main area of expertise.

"When I captain the seconds, I try to bowl a few more overs - depending on who we've got in the team - and hopefully I can become a better bowler.

"The one-day game suits my bowling quite well and I want to be used as an all-rounder. I generally bowl good areas and keep things tight.

"I am never going to be the type of bowler who blasts out batsmen with pace, but I can create pressure by keeping the run-rate down.

"My batting is probably more suited to four-day cricket, but I have been trying to develop my one-day game by upping my strike rate, especially against the spinners, and moving the ball around more effectively."