TRAVIS Head came across some familiar faces when he linked up with his Worcestershire team-mates for the first time.

The Australian left-hander, 24, flew into England last Friday and arrived at Blackfinch New Road in the late afternoon.

He played alongside George Rhodes in the same Tea Tree Gully side two winters ago and is also well acquainted with Ben Cox and Ross Whiteley from their spells of grade cricket in Adelaide.

Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach said: “Travis comes with a really good reputation as a cricketer first and foremost but also as a person as well.

“Two or three of the guys know him quite well from their time in Adelaide and we are really excited to welcome him into the group.

“George has played in the same side, Coxy knows him really well from when he was playing over there and Ross knows him as well.

“He is not going to come into a strange environment — and it is also a pretty welcoming one as well.

“From the correspondence I’ve had with him, he is equally excited to be coming over here.

“He has done pretty well in the last few weeks for South Australia so hopefully he can start the same way for us.

“Even before what has happened this last two or three weeks, he was earmarked for one of those Ashes spots if he could score enough runs.

“I’m sure if he has a good season for us he is going to put his name right in the hat.”

Rhodes said: “When I played for Tea Tree Gully in Adelaide, I was lucky enough to play one game with Travis.

“He is a very good all-rounder, came across as a nice bloke and I think he will fit into the dressing room really well.

“He is quite young and has a lot to prove in his career, like many of us at Worcestershire really, so I think it will be an exciting fit.

“Hopefully we can learn things from him and the way he goes about things and it will be exciting to watch him bat.

“Grade cricket in Australia is a stepping stone for players, a good system, and you are lucky enough to play against people like Travis and other established players.

“That is the beauty of going away. You get to play those sort of players and experience that level.”