Matt Maher: Worcestershire continue to lose players to bigger rivals

Haynes, aged just 22 and tipped by many as a future England player, is the fourth confirmed departure from New Road and the third who will call Trent Bridge his new home after seamers Dillon Pennington and Josh Tongue, both aged 24, agreed to moves earlier this month.

With Notts having signed opening bat Joe Clarke from the Pears in 2018, it means they are likely to field more graduates of Worcestershire’s academy in the first XI than their own next season.

No rules have been broken and all three will have slightly different reasons for moving. But still, the sight of a bigger county luring not one, not two but three players from a smaller rival does highlight a major issue in a sport where the financial gulf between clubs who host Test matches and Hundred franchises and the rest is only getting wider. Worcestershire are far from the only team to suffer. Essex, typically contenders for the Division One title, will lose star man Dan Lawrence to Surrey this winter. The latter already possess a second XI strong enough to challenge for the Championship crown.

In recent years the trickle of talent to the bigger counties has become a healthy stream and the flow isn’t going to reverse anytime soon. For a county system supposed to be the breeding ground for players who can shine in international cricket, it poses a serious problem.

Where is the incentive for the larger counties to invest in a pathway, when they know they can always get players from the smaller? Where is the incentive for the smaller counties to invest in a pathway, when they know their best players are likely to be cherry picked by larger, richer rivals?

The solution perhaps is to create one, in the form of a transfer fee or – more realistically – a compensation system for players aged 25 or under.

Such ideas have been talked about before. The case of Worcestershire should see them urgently revisited.