WORCESTERSHIRE director of cricket Steve Rhodes says the New Road side are likely to have more than one overseas star again next season.

The County employed a quartet of players from foreign shores last term to help them retain their LV= County Championship Division One status.

All-rounders Damien Wright from Australia, former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and West Indies pace ace Kemar Roach all featured for the County in their historic season.

All four proved to be fine assets for Rhodes with Wright, now the New Zealand bowling coach, leading the way with 31 wickets.

“With so many games on the international calendar these days it is difficult to find someone for the entire season,” Rhodes said.

“As well as all the usual internationals, there is the Indian Premier League and the World Twenty20 tournament next year too. So, with all this in mind, it is likely we will have more than one overseas player next season.”

But Rhodes, who saw paceman Matt Mason retire from playing last term, has strengthened his attack for the new campaign with the signing of left-arm seamer David Lucas from Northamptonshire.

The ever-green Alan Richardson produced a stunning season last term with 73 wickets, all-rounder Gareth Andrew won the player-of-the-year award and Richard Jones came back strongly at the end of the campaign, so along with Lucas they’re likely to spearhead Worces-tershire’s seam bowling.

But the County also have talented young all-rounder Aneesh Kapil forcing his way into the first-team reckoning, and with left-arm seamer Jack Shantry and fellow quicks Chris Russell and Nick Harrison also fighting for a place in the starting XI, Rhodes is unlikely to chase another seamer.

The New Road director of cricket, however, may opt to bring in an experienced opening batsman for the first-half of the season.

Both James Cameron and academy product Matt Pardoe had mixed results at the top of the batting line-up last term and Rhodes could look to develop their game further lower down the order.

Moeen Ali is considered to be the County’s only front-line spinner, leg-break bowler Brett D’Oliveira made his first-team debut this year in a Clydesdale Bank 40 match at Yorkshire, but the Worcestershire chief has, for the last two seasons, brought in a spinner for the second-half of the year.

“I am constantly looking at what options are available,” the New Road director of cricket said.

The rules on overseas players next term have been simplified where counties can have two players registered at any one time.

In the Championship and 40-over tournament only one of those can play, while in the Friends Life t20 both are eligible to feature.

Meanwhile, Worcestershire won the Best Membership Campaign Award at the Eng-land and Wales Cricket Board’s business awards.

England (237) lost the second one-day international by eight wickets to India (238-2) in Delhi and trail 2-0 in the five-game series.