CHIEF executive Matt Rawnsley insists on-field glory is at the heart of Worcestershire’s commercial endeavours in a direct statement of intent.

The former player took the helm last month and immediately set about dovetailing the on and off-field activities to renew confidence that delivering the best first-class cricket takes priority at Blackfinch New Road.

“There has been a mentality in the past of wanting to be a 365-day-a-year venue with sometimes the appearance the cricket has not been the priority. It absolutely is,” said Rawnsley.

“This is a cricket club. The venues we have and commercial revenues we bring in are there to support the cricket side of things and to be more competitive.

“No one here is going to puff out their chests at the end of the financial year and say what a great profit we have made if we are not doing well on the field.

“I am not sure if it is a change, more that I am not sure that message has been communicated well in the past.

“There are bridges to be built between the playing and non-playing sides and hopefully the value I can bring through being an ex-player and someone with commercial management experience can help.

“We met as a whole club for the first time in many years to bring together everyone and the mantra was very much that we should be celebrating each other’s success and helping one another out.”

One of Rawnsley’s first challenges is to overcome the latest flooding problem to hit the club’s headquarters.

Most of the standing water had left the ground today after levels peaked last Friday.

“Unfortunately we are well versed in this,” Rawnsley said. “The groundstaff know exactly what they need to do and it has been dealt with very well.

“We need to get over this initial challenge and have contingencies in place for the first home game of the season if needed but if the water recedes quickly there is confidence we can turn around the pitch and get it ready for Nottinghamshire (from April 27).

“We don’t really know what the cost will be until the water all goes and we see what the damage is but luckily we were doing a lot of work anyway and had stripped a lot of things away.

“It is more the time you lose and the venues you cannot use while the water is there. There is no substantial financial impact yet but we do have to see what is left behind.

“We work very closely with Worcestershire County Council and the Environment Agency on what the levels could mean for us but ultimately they cannot help us any more than they have in the past.

“We will see what impact the New Road works have in a year or so but there is little we can do. We have to cope and react to what we have and keep moving forwards.”