FORGET the protracted saga of Gareth Barry’s will he, won’t he move to Liverpool, which feels like it’s been running longer than Coronation Street, it has been whether Stephen Moore will stay or go that has been the main drama down at New Road.

Well that was until last Tuesday when a happy ending was unveiled and the opening batsman signed a new three-year deal with the County.

Like most soap storylines, there were dramatic twists and turns.

No less than 13 other counties wanted the country’s leading first-class run-scorer and, until last Tuesday, no-one knew just how it was all going to pan out.

“Stephen never gave us any indication on which way it was going to go until he made his mind up,” admitted Worcestershire’s chief executive Mark Newton.

But news of Moore’s long-awaited announcement last week has been dramatically overshadowed.

If losing Simon Jones for the rest of the campaign wasn’t bad enough for director of cricket Steve Rhodes, he was then deprived of one of his other senior seamers in Matt Mason 24 hours later.

Then second XI seamers Richard Jones and Mehraj Ahmed broke down too.

With a seam-bowling department of eight, it was quickly cut in half, leaving Rhodes with only Kabir Ali, Imran Arif, Gareth Andrew and Chris Whelan at his disposal.

But what happens should one of those break down too?

At present, Rhodes says he is not going to head into the loan market and, with four fit bowlers, that is understandable, because those who tend to be available are players other counties deem to be outside the starting XI for varying reasons.

The New Road chief says that their exhaustive search for an overseas bowler for the remaining few weeks of the campaign goes on despite admitted it is increasingly difficult to find someone.

But, if Rhodes is still looking for a bowler, all he will be doing is replacing one fit seamer with another as Arif is the County’s registered overseas player — hardly worthwhile given the current state of the Worcestershire attack.

The New Road side are aiming to make an immediate return to the top flight of the County Championship following their relegation last term.

And going into last week’s match at Essex, one which they won by six wickets, they were favourites not only to clinch promotion but the Division Two title as well.

Of course, they can still do both, it just looks like they are going to do it in typical Worcestershire fashion — the hard way.

It just seems a shame the news that Ben Smith, who is the County’s most consistent batsmen at present, has signed a two-year deal at New Road has barely got a mention.

Worcestershire are still awaiting news from Graeme Hick about whether he wants to carrying on playing.

Newton has said that they are prepared to wait and when the player has earned himself legendary status with the club it is hardly surprising they aren’t trying force an answer from the record-breaking 42-year-old.