The one bright spot to come out of the disappointing loss to Kent the previous Sunday was the opening partnership and, in particular, James Pipe's role in it.

Ever since extra fielding restrictions have been imposed at the start of an innings, batting orders have been shuffled in an attempt to find the perfect pinch-hitter. Jayasuriya led the way in the 1996 World Cup, flaying the best attacks with fast hands and a fearless, aerial approach.

He struggled, though, in English conditions during last year's World Cup as had Tom Moody for Worcestershire. Tom was devastating with conventional fielding positions, but the requirement to be even more aggressive seemed to upset his game and he as often a wasted sacrifice.

So your pinch-hitter needs to be someone with a sharp eye, quick hands and the mentality of a gambler. Enter Pipe, whose boundary-filled championship 50 against Warwickshire had suggested he might have the right qualities.

As Worcestershire raced to 80 in 11 overs, the experiment appeared to have worked. Then, like the pace setter in a race, he dropped out and it appeared that the others couldn't live with the pace which had had set. One of Sri Lanka's ploys which made their strategy successful was the presence of opening batsmen down the order who stabilised things. A fast start still brings problems in terms of a mental chain reaction as incoming batsmen deal with the likelihood that they are slowing down the rate.

So now Worcestershire find themselves in the pack in the National League with the title and relegation equally within reach. The opening experiment needs to continue to succeed but with an improvement in frailties elsewhere.

One-day games are normally influenced more by individual batsmen than bowlers. The excellence of Glenn McGrath bucks this trend. However, even his 3-17 against Kent could not trump Dravid's century and he had to concede the overseas battle on this occasion which raises the question of what a county wants from its overseas players.

McGrath has been brilliant, supplying the excellence which ordinary county cricketers cannot match while being a superb team man and inspiration. Sadly, we will have to marvel at his qualities being displayed in Australian colours next year. Who will replace him?

The international calendar means most teams are playing test or one day cricket for some part of our English domestic season. The move for Walsh is therefore an interesting one given his likely retirement from the international scene. He would still be an effective bowler, though like McGrath, he would be frustrated by the lack of pace and bounce in some New Road pitches. He also needs looking after a bit more carefully these days.

There is an inevitable desire to patch up the County via the overseas choice. Yet the choice is so restricted I wonder whether we should just find out what this Worcestershire squad is made of when left to its own devices.