A WEEK of rest and recuperation ended ironically with captain and senior professional sidelined through injury.

What further irony that Worcestershire should record their highest score of the year while apparently at their weakest.

Stephen Peters took welcome advantage of the chance to get back in the side, Steve Davies recorded a maiden first-class hundred and Zander de Bruyn a first for Worcestershire just as he prepared to sign off.

Replacing de Bruyn and charged with the job of salvaging the season is Chris Gayle, out-of-work West Indian batsman and purveyor of essentially cool off-spin.

Given Worcestershire's need for an impact in both one-day and four-day competitions, they can consider themselves lucky to have acquired someone of Gayle's pedigree at this stage of the season.

He is a magnificent striker of a cricket ball and a one-day bowler of proven worth, his slow run-up giving him the air of the poker player with all the aces.

However, West Indian batsmen, apart from the very best such as Brian Lara and Viv Richards, have often struggled in county cricket.

Quick bowlers like Courtney Walsh have been more sought after and durable. Jimmy Adams, Sherwin Campbell and, this season, Ramnaresh Sarwan have all found it hard to make an impact.

That has often been because of typically English pitches with sideways movement defeating lavish West Indian strokeplay.

Yet, late in an English summer, drier pitches offer the prospect of an explosive opening batsman making a real impact.

As a left-hander, Gayle offers the much sought after left-right combination with Stephen Moore, and his off- spin is not to be sniffed at.

The first opportunity for him to make an impact will be a day-night game at Old Trafford.

Lancashire are a powerful side, combining the Australian quality of Symonds, Law and North with the gritty, relatively homegrown talent of Chilton, Sutcliffe and Loye to bat and Chapple, Cork and Anderson to bowl. They are playing powerful cricket and Worcestershire will need to rise to the occasion.

When it comes to the four-day game at Blackpool, the spinners are likely to come to the fore with Gary Keedy, Lancashire's left-arm spinner, being touted as the next best English spinner after Ashley Giles.

Gareth Batty will want to disprove that as part of what could be a three- prong spin attack and as captain as well, if Vikram Solanki has not recovered from his broken thumb.

Injuries have added to the sense of a team undergoing much change. To play so well against Somerset was gratifying.

Realistically, Lancashire present a whole different challenge.