VIKRAM Solanki will not be smashing tea cups in the dressing room or dishing out rollickings to his under-performing Worcestershire players.

Despite seeing his side struggle badly so far this season, the County captain will keep his cool, insisting hard work and perseverance are the key to a change in fortune.

He said: "I'm not one for ranting and raving - all of the lads know their jobs and we all know we have fallen short by a massive margin too often this season.

"We are working hard and hopefully that work will start to pay off soon.

"There is a long way still to go and if we can strike some form I think we'll be OK. I don't think we're that far away though."

Solanki has failed to win a toss in the Championship yet this term, but he is refusing to blame that for the side's poor results.

He added: "Winning the toss is important - those little variables become all the more important when we are not playing as well as we'd like to.

"The real test is here and now and up until recently we've not really been up to it to be fair. We've not really played the cricket we are certainly capable of and want to play.

"We can't harp on about last season - that's all in the past now and what matters at the moment is the way we are playing now and it's blatantly obvious we are not playing as well as we should be.

"We've not played well enough in any of the departments.

"Batting under pressure should not mean the batsmen give their wickets away, but it is not the easiest thing to do.

"We've been on the receiving end of that a little bit lately and it is difficult when you have spent a long time in the field and there is a large total on the scoreboard staring you in the face."