MARK Newton has reiterated Worcestershire's stance on Kolpak players despite the fact they could still get a full distribution of England and Wales Cricket Board money if they chose to field one.

The New Road chief executive has said that the County would be unlikely to go down the Kolpak route even though new rules on overseas players could allow director of cricket Steve Rhodes to sign one without any financial implications to the club.

Counties will receive a full allocation of ECB money if they field nine England-qualified players and with the clubs now only allowed one overseas players for the 2008 campaign they could opt to go down the Kolpak route.

Worcestershire no longer have any Kolpak players on their books following the departure of Zimbabwean left-arm spinner Ray Price.

"If a county only players eight England-qualified players throughout the season then they will lose in the region of £25,000 of ECB money," Newton explained.

"The new rules on overseas players does allow us to sign a Kolpak player without losing any money.

"But we are proud that most our players are England qualified. There were a couple of times last season when we only fielded eight England qualified players but that only happened on a rare occasion."

Many counties have gone down the Kolpak route following the restriction to one overseas player and until the ECB review the rules once again and look to increase the number of England qualified players to 10 then it's likely this will continue to happen.

And with Australia and New Zealand set to join the ranks of Kolpak countries, a nation which has an association agreement with the European Union, there could be a further influx of Kolpak players.

Meanwhile, Worcestershire star Graeme Hick has been in impressive form as England lead the way at the XXXX Gold Beach Cricket tournament. The 41-year-old has played in all six games in the Tri-Nations Series, which include Australia and New Zealand, and he top-scored in the second match against the Aussie with a blistering 81.