BEN Cox is determined to keep driving up his career average in first class cricket after two successful seasons with the bat for Worcestershire.

The County's wicket-keeper has been tagged 'Mr Reliable' by director of cricket Steve Rhodes after his sterling performances batting predominantly at number seven.

Cox scored 778 County Championship runs at an average of 37.04 in 2015 with one hundred and five fifties from 26 knocks - his first full season of Division One cricket.

Then last summer he was equally consistent with 757 Championship Division Two runs at an average of 36.04 with six half centuries in 23 innings.

But Cox wants to boost his overall average of 28.77 after several years learning and improving his game dating back to making his debut as a 17-year-old when still at Bromsgrove School in 2009.

He said: "It is hard work to pull it (the overall average) back. It is horrible. You look at the averages and you are averaging 28 whereas the last two seasons I have been up towards 40.

"It is frustrating. I want to get that (overall average) up and the way to get that up is by scoring runs consistently.

"If I average around 40 throughout the rest of my career, then it will take care of itself."

Cox was delighted to be blooded as a first teamer so early but admits he had much to learn.

He said: "I went back to my old school in the summer for the commemoration ceremony of the leavers and also one of my teachers was leaving.

"There was a game going on, hundreds of marquees around the ground, and I went straight from that into a professional environment.

"How did I feel at the time? I had to learn under the spotlight. But now I'm just more pleased I've turned it round through hard work , and it has been a lot of hard work, keeping and batting.

"I've just put in the hard yards and I'm glad it is paying off now. We've worked so hard together, myself and Bumpy (Steve Rhodes), to try and make me better.

"He has put in the hard yards with me, I've put in the hard yards for him and for the club. If you put the hard yards in, you can go out and play."