DAMIAN D’Oliveira’s legacy at New Road will provide benefits for Worcestershire for years to come, according to chief executive David Leatherdale.

County stalwart D’Oliveira, 53, lost his long-running battle with cancer on Sunday morning, but his name will live on in the shape of the scores of young players he developed over the years as the club’s academy director.

Leatherdale said: “The current match against Glamorgan is a good example of a young lad in Tom Fell, who has come through the system.

“Dolly’s legacy is not only the players you see today that have come through, but there are also a number who are starting to bear the fruits of his work over the last five to 10 years.

“He was a loveable guy, a really good coach and he did have that eye for a fantastic cricketer through all the sorts of age groups.

“Hopefully, the guys we’ve got even younger than the ones playing at the moment will bear the fruits of his hard work.”

Former County all-rounder Leatherdale, 46, added: “Next year, I will have been here 30 years, but Dolly would have done closer to 40 years both as player and coach.

“Dolly was pretty laid back, he was a relaxed cricketer. Everyone remembers the way he used to score his runs, he used to score them quite quickly, but he was also a fantastic slip fielder.

“He stood at first slip next to Bumpy (Steve Rhodes) for most of his career and he had as good a pair of hands as you could find.

“He was a little fellow with a big pair of hands and took a huge amount of catches.

“But he offered everything. He was a great fielder when not in the slips, bowled some reasonable off-spin but his laid-back manner was the way he played cricket.”