TOMORROW will see Worcestershire kick-off 11 days of action ahead of the opening Specsavers County Championship match with Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl beginning on April 13.

The County will break off from warm weather training during their pre-season camp in Abu Dhabi to take on a UAE X1 in a 50 over match.

Forty eight hours later the emphasis will switch to red ball cricket when skipper Joe Leach’s side face Cambridge University (March 16-17).

Worcestershire will return home on March 19 to step up their preparations in English conditions.

They will tackle fellow Division One side Somerset in a two-day contest at Taunton Vale on March 22-23.

Then just a little further up the M5, the County will take on Gloucestershire in a three-day fixture from March 26-28.

The two games have become regular warm-up fixtures in recent seasons.

Worcestershire’s final action before the Championship starter will be a three-day affair against Leeds-Bradford MCCU at RGS Worcester from April 1-3.

The sides also met at Weetwood last year and Leach has admitted his two years at the University were important for his cricket development.

He made his first class debut for Leeds Bradford versus Surrey at The Oval six years ago, taking four wickets in the first innings – including Jason Roy for a duck – and scoring a half century in the second innings.

Unlike last season’s contest, the game will have first class status along with Leeds-Bradford’s encounter with Yorkshire.

PRE SEASON FIXTURES.

March 14 – UAE X1 (Abu Dhabi).

March 16, 17 – Cambridge University (Abu Dhabi).

March 22, 23 – Somerset (Taunton Vale).

March 26, 27, 28 – Gloucestershire (Bristol).

April 1, 2, 3 – Leeds-Bradford MCCU (RGS Worcester).