WORCESTERSHIRE'S Australian newcomer Andy Bichel has quickly adapted to the English conditions - and how!

The 30-year-old has been a big hit for the County this season with both bat and ball and has already chalked up a trio of 'firsts'.

He began by hammering his maiden one-day century - exactly 100 - in the Benson and Hedges Cup group match against Glamorgan at Cardiff which earned him the Gold Award.

Then, in the Championship game with Gloucestershire at Bristol at the end of last month, he claimed a career-best 'double'.

The 76 he cracked in his first innings is his highest tally so far in the competition while the 6-44 he claimed later in the match remain a career-best haul.

Pace ace Bichel's analysis, however, was only his best by a narrow margin, having previously taken 6-47 on three occasions, 6-46 twice and 6-45 once.

Of these, the performance he values the most was against New South Wales when he accounted for Mark Taylor, Michael Slater and the Waugh twins.

Bichel, however, believes there are still a few more 'firsts' to come during his debut season with the County where he has soon learned to deal with the testing English conditions.

He said: "There's no doubt you have got to bowl a lot fuller over here. When I first got here that was mentioned as one of the different things you have to do in England, pitch the ball more up than in Australia and just bowl a fuller length.

"I've felt I've adjusted quite well to the conditions. We've been going quite well. We've won quite a few games, but we probably let ourselves down a little bit in the Benson and Hedges Cup.

"Our batting and bowling has been really good. I think they are definitely our strengths of this summer. Probably we need to keep on top of our fielding. It has let us down at certain times whether it's one-day or four-day games where we have dropped a few chances.

"At first-class level you cannot give the opposition a couple of chances. If you do the guy is up to 50 or 60 and it has happened a lot so far this season.

"Everyone is working hard on it and if we keep on improving that will put us in good stead at the end of the season.

"The wickets, though, are slow. It's nice to get into a new batsman but you can't because conditions don't allow you to.

"You might want to bowl a few short ones just to unsettle the batsman, but in England the ball just sits up. That's probably the biggest change from back home.

"On most of the pitches if you want to bowl a short ball you can do it and keep working on their footwork and unsettle them so you can get a catch behind or an lbw.

"I've had a lot of play and misses and maybe it's because my length is a little bit short, but chances had gone down here and there. That's cricket and you get that, but as a whole I feel I've done alright and the side in general has done alright.

"It would be nice to still be in the Benson and Hedges Cup. It was disappointing to lose by one wicket against Warwickshire and in a run chase against Somerset and Gloucestershire.

"We had a chance of winning them both and we let ourselves down. I think we've learned from them and we've improved since then."

And how is he enjoying the stresses and strains of English cricket?

"It's been good because of the fact you never get time to think what's gone by. You do have time at the end of a match but you can really rectify yourself the next day or in a couple of days time when there's another game."

Bichel did not play against his fellow Aussies in the recent Vodafone Challenge Series match to make sure he remains in tip-top condition for what he regards as Worcestershire's all-important target this season - clinching promotion from the second division in both the County Championship and Norwich Union League.

He said: "It would have been nice to have played in that game, but the main thing is to get Worcestershire out of the second divisions so it was an opportunity to take a little bit of a rest and recharge the batteries."

One thing that has been particularly pleasing this season for Bichel, who became the County's overseas player following the depature of fellow Australian Glenn McGrath, is his batting exploits.

He said: "I've always prided myself on my batting and when I was young I was more of a batsman than a bowler. You get earmarked as a bowler and bat down the order, but I enjoy every innings."