IT must be something of a culture shock for Moeen Ali to suddenly find himself back at Worcestershire following England's winter of discontent.

The all-rounder has gone from playing in front of packed partisan crowds in Bangladesh during the disappointing World Twenty20 campaign to the relative tranquility of New Road watched by a couple of hundred fans.

Factor in a temperature drop of about 20 degrees, despite the warm spring sunshine currently bathing the County, and the contrast is stark.

Readjusting to more familiar surroundings started well with his 41 in the first innings of this week's LV= County Championship Division Two match against Kent adding to his 69 against Hampshire.

However, that start stuttered when he was trapped lbw by Doug Bollinger in the second innings at New Road.

Yet, as well as returning to Worcestershire after being on tour with England, Moeen is now facing a season like none before.

Having finally made the transition from England Lions into the main fold, the 26-year-old is now looking to stake a claim for a Test place against Sri Lanka and India this summer.

That as well as the pressure of carrying a large chunk of Worcestershire's hopes on his shoulders, although the early form of his team-mates, including captain Daryl Mitchell, has been promising.

[blob par] In last week's column I incorrectly stated that Gay Trip was the last Worcestershire winner of the Grand National. It was, of course, the Michael Oliver-trained West Tip in 1986. My apologies to Mr Oliver for this error.