Phil Jaques was a frustrated internet spectator 10,000 miles away in Australia last September when Worcestershire sealed their unexpected double promotion at Northampton on the final day of the season.

It was the third time he had won promotion to the top flight of the County Championship, having also achieved the feat with Northamptonshire and Yorkshire. And it was a huge personal disappointment that he had to miss out on the celebrations, having had to return home early to attend an Australian training camp, and that his stand-in Lou Vincent should have had his share of the champagne.

But, although this will be his first season in the top flight of English county, in what will be his fifth summer over here, and he has a tough job on his hands emulating his personal achievements of 2006 (an astonishing 1148 runs in just eight matches at an average of 88.31), Jaques insists that there are still more runs left in his locker.

"Everyone still wants to keep on improving," he said. "And I'm no different. Last season was great to get promoted in on both forms of the game. And we now have a double challenge, first to stay up, then to challenge for silverware.

"But, if the guys stay on park, then hopefully we've got the team to do it."

Jaques arrived at New Road this time last year to enter a distracted dressing room only just starting to recover from the previous season's comings and goings. But he acknowledges the part coach Steve Rhodes played in helping to put the Tom Moody era, and in particular the disastrous Shoaib Akhtar interlude, behind them.

"Bumpy had a lot to do with that," he said. "He sat us down and we addressed the fact that everybody needed to go in the same direction and that we didn't want any primadonnas in the team.

"The key was to play the game the right way, play aggressive cricket, be prepared to lose points to gain points and that attitude shouldn't change even though we're now in Division One.

"That's how the good sides win. We've got to be winning games of cricket and we've got the team to do it. It's something everyone in the team has embraced, the camaraderie was great last year and, in Doug Bollinger, we've got another great guy who'll fit into the dressing room really well."

It was a team effort that, for all the things that said, really translated itslef in terms of deeds at the Oval early in the season, in only Worcester's third game in mid-May.

Needing an unlikely 190 more runs from 32 overs to win at The Oval against Surrey after an untimely rain break on the final afternoon, Jaques led from the front with his first century for the county. And, with Ben Smith staying to marshal things on 46 not out, despite still needing nine off the last over, thanks to a six from Zaheer, they kickstarted their season by getting home with a ball to spare.

"We were 'umming and ahhing' in the dressing room whether to have a crack at it," recalls Jaques. "Just to play time out and have a bit of batting practice could have been very easy to do. But, after losing our first two games, we were looking at no wins from three, we took it to them, won the game of cricket and got the season going.

"Now we've just got to keep that same spirit going, believe we can do it again and see where that takes us."

After another good Australian summer, in which he vied with Chris Rogers, his main rival for the now retired Justin Langer's place as Test opener, in the run charts, there is also the side issue of his international ambitions.

Australia, once again, have arranged three apparently meaningless one-dayers with Zimbabwe right in the middle of the summer. And there is also talk of an as yet unconfirmed 'A' tour which might bring Jaques' season to an abrupt end. But, for the moment, as he admits, it's simply a nice problem to have, and one which will be a lot more likely only if he's in the runs for Worcestershire.

"That will come into it," said Jaques. "I ended up second highest in the Pura Cup to Chris Rogers, who's my closest rival to Langer's spot. And, if I start the season well here and have another decent summer over here, I may get a spot.

"The big key is just to try and do my best and keep improving."