WHILE wet weather and a rain-soaked outfield caused much frustration in Worcestershire’s opening match against Kent, one player was keen to keep things in perspective.

“It’s a dream to be playing professional cricket,” said Worcestershire pace ace Charlie Morris.

“We are the luckiest guys in the world to do this job. But it’s not a job, it’s a hobby.

“You don’t start playing cricket as a job. You do it because you enjoy the sport and I started playing when I was six or seven years old.

“It’s a huge honour to play for Worcestershire. Even if you have a bad day in the field or have been out there for 150 overs and the opposition have loads of runs on the board, you still look around and think, ‘Wow, how lucky am I to be out here’.

“You look at the greats who have played for Worcestershire and think about Graham Dilley and Ian Botham and it is a huge honour to be at this club.

“I think it’s important to reflect on things like this and not take it for granted. It doesn’t matter how many seasons you’ve had as a cricketer, the start of any season is a really good time of year.”

Morris has bagged 116 wickets in 37 first-class matches and during the winter spent time touring with the MCC in South Africa.

The 23-year-old is now looking forward to working alongside New Zealand Test bowler Matt Henry, who is at New Road for the first part of the summer.

“This is the first time I’ve been at the club when we’ve had an overseas seamer for the first bit of the season and it will add a different element to our game,” said Morris.

“To have someone with Matt’s capabilities is going to be a huge boost. He’s done brilliantly on the international scene and has fitted in well with us and is raring to get stuck in.”

Morris is also keen to see the impact of returning England all-rounder Moeen Ali and excited about the arrival later in the season of New Zealander Mitchell Santner and South African Kyle Abbott.

“We’ve got some exciting players with Mo, Matt, Mitch and Kyle coming into the side,” said Morris.

“Kyle is coming over later in the season when the pitches should be drier. We’re looking forward to getting him over and finishing off the season in style.”