WORCESTERSHIRE first team coach Alex Gidman has revealed the hunger of Tom Fell to demonstrate his full potential and enjoy a successful time with the bat this summer.

Gidman was a team-mate of Fell when he scored 1,000 Division One runs in the County Championship in 2015 before encountering his well-documented battle against cancer.

Now after a couple of challenging seasons Gidman is looking for Fell to kick on with his career and says the player himself is keen to make such strides forward.

He signed a new three-year contract with the County until the end of the 2021 campaign last autumn.

Gidman said: “Tom is a very honest bloke.

“He would accept he hasn’t quite reached the heights that he wants for himself and I think that is the important part.

“It’s not what we think or anyone else thinks. It is about what he wants to achieve and he is very open about that and wants to improve and be more successful.

“Tom is a top-three batsman which is good but it’s also the hardest place to bat in our conditions.

“He will be wanting to do well this year naturally but I expect that, he knows that and he should thrive on that and embrace that which I know he will do.

“Tom is an outstanding player otherwise we wouldn’t have given him another contract.

“He is now getting to the point where he is starting to pick up quite a bit of experience, both good and bad. That is part of the learning.

“Just to stress, he is in the same boat as other players who are very hungry to improve and succeed.”

Meanwhile, Wayne Parnell top-scored on his Pakistan Super League bow for champions Islamabad United but ended on the losing side.

The Worcestershire all-rounder was brought in for Islamabad’s third game against Quetta Gladiators in Dubai.

Parnell, who will start a three-year contract with the County for the 2019 season, came to the wicket with United on 82-6 in the 13th over.

The 29-year-old responded with 41 off 20 balls with one six and seven fours.

He was eighth out at 144 in the penultimate over.

Islamabad totalled 157-8 but Australian opener Shane Watson’s unbeaten 81 powered Quetta to 161-3 with 10 balls left.

Parnell bowled one over for 16 runs. Islamabad have won one game so far.

Adam Finch claimed two victims but England Young Lions lost by three wickets in the second Test with Bangladesh under 19s in Chittagong.

Bangladesh chased down a 333 target on the final day to win the series 2-0.

The hosts resumed on 34-1 and Worcestershire’s Finch, 18, ended with figures of 18-1-60-2.

Bangladesh completed a clean sweep of victories over England in all three formats. Finch now returns to Blackfinch New Road.