WORCESTERSHIRE Academy player Ollie Westbury has had a week to remember Down Under.

Westbury has already enjoyed a successful spell this winter in Australia playing for Hay Park CC in the Bunbury and District Cricket Association (BDCA) competition.

That led him to being selected to skipper the BDCA X1 against the other Cricket Associations in Western Australia during Country Week which was staged in Perth.

And the opening batsman responded by leading his side to four victories out of five and finishing as the competition's leading run-getter.

Westbury had scores of 55, 120 not out, 23, 65 and 13 to give him a tally of 276 runs at an average of 69.

BDCA just failed to reach the grand final but it was another indication of the potential Westbury possesses.

Worcestershire academy coach Elliot Wilson said:"For Ollie to be asked to captain the Bunbury side was great for him.

"They won four out of five games and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the grand final which was a shame. He had a pretty good week and ended up being the leading run scorer in the tournament."

Wilson has been delighted with the progress made by Westbury, who enjoyed a prolific 2015 playing for Shrewsbury School before breaking into the Worcestershire Second Eleven and scoring his maiden century against Nottinghamshire at the Sports Ground in Nottingham.

He said: "Everything we could have wished for Ollie to get out of the winter, has been fantastic. He has contributed to Hay Park winning lots of games of cricket.

"He has got some runs and spent some time at the wicket and had the opportunity to go and stand on his own two feet in Australia for six months and I think he has loved every minute of it.

"We are excited to have him back middle end of March to join up with the pros when they do the back end of their pre-season here at New Road.

"He has a great opportunity the first half of the summer to play a lot of second team cricket when a lot of the lads are still at university or school and we are really hopeful he makes the most of those opportunities because he is a great kid and he has got some performances behind him which show he has got a bit of quality as well.

"He had a phenomenal year at Shrewsbury School last year and that led into an opportunity to play for the Seconds and he scored a 100 on debut against Notts who included Chris Woakes on loan and Will Gidman.

"From that point forward, when he was fit and available, he was one of the first players picked in the second team because he had earned the right."

Wilson believes Westbury can only benefit from his winter in Australia.

He said: "Ollie finished school and, before he goes to University, wanted to have a bit of time-out.

"Sitting here for the winter, not working full-time, would have meant he would have a lot of spare time on his hands which wouldn't have been the greatest situation.

"It is not quite grade cricket like the lads are playing in Perth but, for a young Academy player, his first winter abroad, the cricket was going to be a challenge."