A GIFTED young batsman from Kidderminster Victoria CC is living the dream after making his debut for Worcestershire at the weekend.

Twenty-year-old Matt Pardoe made a solid start to his Royals career with a steady 26 at New Road in Worcestershire’s opening County Championship Division One loss against Yorkshire.

It’s a world away from Chester Road, where the Kidderminster-based left-arm batsman hit 1,446 runs over two seasons and became an integral part of the KVCC side which just missed out on the Birmingham and District League Premier Division title last season.

“It was an awesome feeling to make my debut for the county, its a tremendous honour to be playing for Worcesterhire,” commented Pardoe.

“It’s a better standard than I am used to playing at, you have to be patient because there are less bad balls and you’ve got to wait for right one.

“I’m thrilled to be playing for Worcestershire. I just want to bed in at the moment and hopefully get some runs.

“Playing against better players will help me improve as well. My ultimate aim is to score 1,000 runs but that’s a long way off at the minute and I am just concentrating on getting into the team at Worcestershire.”

Pardoe, who attended Hagley’s Heybridge High School, started off at Worcestershire County League side Belbroughton before moving to Halesowen.

He joined KVCC in 2009 and made an immediate impact, averaging 38.05 runs in his first season.

He could be leading the way for the club as fellow KVCC youngster Neil Pinner, who like Pardoe signed a two-year deal with Worcestershire and impressed for the county’s second string last season, with both hitting over 1,000 runs last year.

Pardoe added: “I’ve been in the same team as Neil since we were 10-years-old.

“It’s great to have a friend in the same set-up, we’re always competing with each other to get runs.”

Before his debut, Pardoe was handed his cap and colours and made a solid 26 from 88 balls before he was caught by Lee Sayers off Ryan Sidebottom’s delivery.

Newly-promoted Worcestershire suffered a losing start back in Division One of the County Championship. The hosts made 286 in the first inning, with Pardoe looking composed before his dismissal, while Yorkshire’s Gerard Brophy guided the northern side to 368 all out in reply.

Pardoe was bowled by England spinner Adil Rashid for nought as Worcestershire collapsed to 137 all out, before Yorkshire cruised to 56-1 and a nine-wicket win.

Worcestershire’s gain could be KVCC’s loss if Pardoe and Pinner can nail down regular spots for the county, with both less available for the Chester Road outfit.

Pardoe added: “As long as I am not playing for Worcestershire, I will always try and play for Kidderminster Victoria.”