SIX Worcestershire players will return to action in Australia today after a three-week break for Christmas and the new year.

Ben Cox, Jack Shantry, Joe Leach, Richard Oliver, Ed Barnard and Ross Whiteley will be back performing for their respective clubs Down Under.

Worcestershire wicketkeeper Cox and paceman Shantry will be in the Greenvale Kangaroos side for the opening day of the Victorian Cricket Association Bartercard Men’s Premier Firsts clash with visiting Frankston Peninsula.

The two-day game will be concluded next week on Saturday, January 17.

All-rounder Ross Whiteley will also be involved in a two-day encounter — today and Sunday — for Prospect Cricket Club who entertain Gleneig in a South Australian Cricket Association ‘A’ grade match.

Another all-rounder in Joe Leach will be part of the North Canberra Gungahlin team who will visit Ginninderra for a 50-over match in the Australian Capital Territory first grade.

He helped the Northies to Twenty20 trophy glory before the festive season.

In the same competition, a third New Road all-rounder, England Under 19 player Ed Barnard, will be in action for Queanbeyan District who have to travel to Western District UC.

Geelong City skipper and Worcestershire opener Richard Oliver’s side will play host to South Barwon in the Geelong Cricket Association Division One.

A seventh Worcestershire player, Joe Clarke, the England Under 19 wicketkeeper, will be turning out for South Perth Cricket Club in their home match with Rockingham-Mandurah.

This match is in the Western Australian Cricket Association first grade.

Clarke returned to playing a week ahead of his New Road team-mates and scored his fourth half-century in six innings for his club against Freemantle.