WORCESTERSHIRE'S batting efforts have been bolstered with another county player signing up.

The Pears have signed Gloucestershire batsman Gareth Roderick on a three-year contract as the county looks to bolster what has been a inconsistent batting line-up in recent years.

The 28 year-old follows on from Jake Libby, signed from Notts earlier this year, and New Zealand opener Hamish Rutherford.

Roderick played alongside Worcestershire head coach Alex Gidman during his Gloucester days, saying he has been a big influence already on his career. He also had meetings with county chairman Fanos Hira and steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon.

He said: "I’m very excited to be joining Worcestershire. When I spoke to Alex and he explained the kind of path he wants to take Worcestershire CCC on in the next five years, it became an exciting project to tie myself to.

"Once I met Fanos and Paul and Alex, and had a look around, and heard what is going on behind the scenes, it was a very appealing place to join.

"It looks like there are going to be big things happening in the next few years and to jump on that train and join everyone in that journey is really exciting.

"Part of the discussion I had with Alex wasn’t so much about tailoring for white ball or focusing on red ball but building a squad to be sustainable and successful in all three formats."

South African born Roderick made his First Class debut for KwaZulu Natal in 2011, then joined Gloucestershire for whom he made his debut in 2013, and has an impressive First Class average of 35.30 and a similar 33.82 in List A cricket.

Alex Gidman said: "For me, Gareth is an established First Class performer and a top order batsman which again, as we identify the areas in our squad that we need to strengthen, that is one of them.

"There were a lot of county cricketers in the last year of their contracts, and for us, Gareth was the stand-out player that we wanted to try and bring to Blackfinch New Road and we are really pleased that he wants to come and play for us.

"We are constantly trying to strike the right balance between youth and experience and with both him and Jake Libby I think we’ve got the balance right."

Steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon said the signing was partly inspired by concerns raised by fans over the team's lack of top-order runs.

He said: "Members were concerned last year, quite rightly, about the lack of runs at the top of the batting order and we’ve made some real effort to improve it.

"We’ve signed Jake Libby from Nottinghamshire, had signed Hamish Rutherford as the overseas player, and have now signed Gareth as well.

"These new signings also help to provide competition and, if you are going to be successful, that’s what you need."