ROOKIE paceman Chris Liptrot came in for praise from Worcestershire coach Bill Athey after returning career-best figures of 6-44 in his side's nine wicket win over Warwickshire at New Road.

For the 20-year-old it was the perfect way to mark his first County Championship Division Two appearance of the season.

Athey said of the former England Under 19 player: "It's taken him a while to get into the team this season.

"Obviously, with Glenn McGrath here and Kabir Ali playing almost the full season it's been difficult for any of the young seamers to get in.

"Early on in the season Chris almost lost it. He could just not bowl a ball straight, but because of his character, the fact that he's enthusiastic about the game, and he works hard, he's overcome that problem," said the New Road coach.

"His 6-44 is a terrific reward for him for a lot of hard work. If you had seen him say two months ago he was desperately unhappy with the way he was bowling. But it's great that he's come in for his first County Championship game of the season and got a career-best against local rivals when we desperately needed it as a team.

"He's done a wonderful job and everybody should be delighted for him. He burst onto the scene last year, hasn't had the opportunities quite as often this year, but he's proved to people that he can bowl at this level."