With the fond memories of the unforgettable 2025 season now a distant souvenir, the attentions of the man at the forefront of Worcestershire CCC have already turned to another year bursting with opportunities.
Whilst the focus of the playing group and coaching staff shift back to all things cricket after a well-earned winter break, other departments at the club have followed suit, with preparations off the pitch and behind the scenes ahead of the 2026 campaign gathering momentum.
During the club’s recent trip to Bologna with new partners, Macron, for the eagerly anticipated 2026 kit launch, Chief Executive Officer Ashley Giles took some time to explain his desire for all those involved at New Road to join him in aiming big this summer.
“We will continue to be innovative and push boundaries, exemplified by recently having been in Bologna, which was an incredible experience where the team continued to push the boundaries with this year’s kit launch.
“Take the new partnership as well with Macron. Joe and I came here twice to visit them and began to build that relationship and understand the business and see how they run things, in particular their professionalism and thoroughness.
“Like us at Worcestershire, they are a business that are looking to push the boundaries of what they do and punch above their weight. We love that because it absolutely mirrors our own ambitions. And then coming back here and looking at the new kit launch come together and the designs of the new kits is genuinely incredible.
“I hope that we have similar signs for the summer on and off the field. We always want success on the pitch, we want to upset the apple cart and shock a few of the ‘big boys’ across the country and ultimately, we want to win things.
“This year will be centred around our efforts to get back into Division One and continuing our consistency off the field. We talk a lot about creating great experiences and I think when we step back and reflect, where we’ve come from as a business to where we’re hoping to go, it is really exciting.”
Having joined the club midway through the well-documented struggles of 2023, Ashley has spearheaded the growth of a new culture at Worcestershire CCC.
Whether it be practices on the pitch, new signings added to the playing group, or additions and alterations to the mindsets within the commercial team; moulding a new identity through the business has helped steer the club to the start of an inspiring new era.
But, as is so often emphasised, the CEO reiterated that without the right people in the right places, progression and development are merely a vision.
“Identity is important, but the culture is important, and to have the right culture, the people are even more important.
“Perhaps, we were a little bit lost at the time when I arrived, and there was certainly not a great connection between the two sides of business, be it the cricket and the commercial.
“At times it has been pretty tough, however, once you look at where we’ve come commercially and what an incredible job Joe has done on that side, supported by many others, from a cricket side, you begin to realise the significance of our identity.
“We’ve had our lows with relegation, of course we recognise that, but we continue to fight in that battle for being in the top tier. We did that so well two years ago by finishing in our highest position ever in Division One cricket and again by winning the Metro Bank One Day Cup last year.
“Trophies don’t come around that often so we are well within our rights to revel in that and enjoy it, but as good as it is to reflect, the reason you don’t sit still for too long is because we want to drive forward for more success, that’s our motivation this year.”
The emergence of young stars Dan Lategan and Isaac Mohammed throughout 2025 highlighted the faith being placed in youth at New Road, with the next generation of stars rising through the ranks to add further stardust to an already experienced and talented squad.
With Beyers Swanepoel and Usama Mir added to the playing squad to bolster the charge for silverware across both red and white ball cricket, and the Women’s Rapids raising the curtain on their second season in Tier 2 cricket – the signs of growth show no signs of slowing.
For the man at the helm, it feels as though everything is heading the right direction.
Driven by a passion to succeed and a genuine emotional connection that he, alongside one of the strongest supporter bases in the country, call home, the Worcestershire journey is only just beginning.
“How do we drive the business off the field to make sure we are fully sustainable in the future? Another part of that is of course, the ground and what happens with New Road in the future.
“We’ve talked a lot about additional venues, but while that continues, we will remain focussed on matters on the field, such as challenging for promotion back to division one.
“But it isn’t that simple or by any means a given that that will just happen. I’m not someone who’s going to sit here as Chief Executive and say, ‘we have to do that and that will happen this season’. That’s not sport.
“We remain one of the clubs with one of the smallest budgets in terms of cricket spend, because we cut our cloth according to what we are. We will give it our everything, as we always have done, but what we do so well in other areas that only help breed success is breed a great culture.
“We’ve got some exceptional coaches, a great group of senior players now supported by some really young, exciting players coming through as well. I am really excited, you know it is good when your wife says it, but I don’t think we’ve been happier for many years than we’ve been at Worcestershire. We live in the county and have done for 26 years.
“It’s a wonderful club filled with wonderful people, and I hope everyone involved at Worcestershire is loving it as much as I am.”
