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High hopes: Steve Magoffin.

NEW Worcestershire overseas signing Steve Magoffin is hoping he can help the County get off to a flying start this season.

The 28-year-old Western Warriors seamer completed his move to the New Road outfit yesterday and is expected to arrive at the 2007 NatWest Pro40 champions on April 8.

The announcement comes just 48 hours after the signing of West Indies paceman Fidel Edwards for the second part of the season.

Magoffin has signed a two-month contract and is relishing the opportunity of playing in England.

The former Surrey quick liked what he heard about the County from Western Warriors head coach, Worcestershire's former director of cricket Tom Moody.

"I had a chat with Tom and he can't speak highly enough about the place," said Magoffin. "He tells me it's a great club and a great place to live.

"I also had a chat with Phil Jaques and Doug Bollinger the other night and they enjoyed their time at Worcestershire as well. Hopefully I can perform well enough so Worcestershire will want me back in seasons down the line."

Magoffin will play for the New Road side until June 9 and is hoping he will be able to complement the County's already formidable attack.

"I get my wickets by bowling in the right areas and putting the batsmen under a lot of pressure," he said. "I'm not the quickest of bowlers but I try to stay very economical.

"I feel I have had a pretty decent season with Western Australia and hopefully I can continue that when I come over. Its all about being consistent."

New Road's director of cricket Steve Rhodes says he has been trailing the 28-year-old for two years and compares his style to one of Australia's greatest ever seamers and another former Worcestershire player.

"He is very much like Glenn McGrath," said Rhodes. "He gets the ball in the right areas and I think he will be able to make the most of the early season moisture."

With Magoffin's contract ending just before the Twenty20 Cup, Rhodes says they may look to bring in another overseas player for that competition.

"There is a gap between Steve's contract ending and Fidel starting. Whether we look to extend Steve's contract for the Twenty20 we'll see what happens," Rhodes added.

"I'll be keeping an eye on the both the ICL (Indian Cricket League) and IPL (Indian Premier League) and to see who may be potentially available."

Meanwhile, the County have also confirmed they have reached an agreement with Kidderminster Victoria Cricket Club to move first-class cricket to Chester Road should there be a repeat of last summer's floods.

Worcestershire in return will invest £50,000 in the facilities at the Kidderminster ground over a five-year period.

7:30am Thursday 28th February 2008

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