[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

All wrapped up pretty comfortably in the end, but Callum Parkinson of Leics (Matt Parkinson's twin brother) looks a storming prospect. Ten wickets in the match, on a pitch that even had Ravi Ashwin struggling for turn.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Fantastic first day from a Pears perspective at Wantage Road. Northants fail to pick up any batting points, and at 80-5 Notts may not be snaffling up too many bonuses either. An eight-point draw would be the ideal result from here (though unlikely unless weather intervenes). Nevertheless, if Northants fail to win then Worcestershire will be promoted.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

All set for drama in next week's final round. Worcestershire are just 300 runs and nine Durham wickets away from sealing a place in Division One, irrespective of how the results go. If we mess up the first innings and fail to get the necessary bonus points, a draw will still be enough to see us over the line.

[themaclad]

Would be funny if Notts blow it

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

vs Durham

County Championship, Division Two

New Road, Worcester

Day One: Pears won the toss and elected to bat on a dismal September day that saw less than a session's play in total. Worcestershire were reeling more than a little at 69-3, but Joe Clarke saw the home team's promotion push safely through to close at 90-3.

Day Two: On a fine sunny Tuesday the objective was to knock off the necessary 300 runs required for our batting bonus, and despite a wobble here and there the Pears made it to 335 all out, courtesy of 82 from Ravi Ashwin and 75 from Ed Barnard. In the day's final session the news came through of a Northants collapse at Grace Road, and five Durham wickets before close meant that the only question remaining was whether Worcestershire could wrap up the last couple of bonus points before Northants gifted us promotion on a plate.

Day Three: And as it happened, Northants obliged us within ten minutes of the day's play. Their four bonus points weren't enough to keep the challenge alive, and as if to celebrate their confirmed Division One status, the Pears rattled through the last few Durham wickets with ease. Though bad weather curtailed the day's play, there was time for the home side to reach 157-3 before close with a season-best 47 from the out of form Tom Fell. Overnight, the Pears lead by 284 with seven wickets remaining, and with the weather set fair for Thursday, it's now simply a case of how many we pile on before the inevitable declaration and ensuing charge for the division title. Notts are heading for an almost-certain draw at Hove, and in that circumstance a draw at New Road would suffice too, but it'd be a shame not to celebrate the county's first title since 2003 in style. Come on you Pears: let's have some last-day fireworks.

Day Four: A fine sunny Thursday to close the season saw Daryl Mitchell reach his seventh century of 2017 - a career-best effort - as Worcestershire cruised to a lead of 369 before declaring. From the very first over of the fourth innings, when skipper Joe Leach dismissed Cameron Steel on his way to 69 wickets for the season (another career best), Durham were always going to struggle. Ravi Ashwin got in on the act with five-fer to bring a fitting end to his influential stint at New Road, before boy wonder Joe Clarke took the catch at half past four that put Worcestershire's name on the trophy.

It's been a season of many troubles, trials and travails, but this trophy was a well-earned triumph on the banks of the Severn.

Worcestershire WIN by a hundred and thirty-seven runs

Worcestershire are CHAMPIONS of Division Two

Star Performer: It's difficult to overlook the all-round individual performance of Ravi Ashwin, whose first-innings 82 with the bat and second-innings five-fer with the ball put this match in Worcestershire's hands. But this achievement belongs to a homegrown Pears side who've pushed themselves to greater and greater heights through 2017, and will hopefully continue to do so in the years to come.

Next Match: Will, of course, have to wait until spring 2018, when the Pears will test their mettle once more in Division One.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Worcestershire County Cricket Club

2017 Season Review

What began in the blossoming days of April finished, as ever, in the tawny glory of late September, and after an incredibly rough six-month ride, the ending was a happy one for Worcestershire.  Come April 2018 the county will once again be playing Division One cricket in the County Championship, having won the Division Two title for the first time since 2003, and the achievement was all the more remarkable for the fact that the entire team (save for overseas contributors John Hastings, Nathan Lyon and Ravi Ashwin) was composed of players brought through the ranks of the Worcestershire academy.

In a division awash with ageing journeymen and quick-fix Kolpak players, the Pears ethos under Steve Rhodes has long been to focus on local talent, and though for much of the summer it looked like such honourable idealism might go unrewarded - with the departure of Tom Kohler-Cadmore for his native Yorkshire badly undermining both white-ball campaigns, and the Championship season faltering thanks to many a batting collapse and toothless bowling display - September's winning streak restored the form and the pride that this young Worcestershire side had displayed in the spring, and in the end, top spot was richly deserved.

The T20 Blast was a non-starter (sadly, the game's shortest form is one area where the ageing journeymen and quick-fix Kolpaks reign supreme), and the limp semi-final exit from the One-Day Cup was a disappointment after topping the Northern Group.  But no one can fault the Pears for a fantastic 2017 in red-ball cricket.

Though he would doubtless dispute it hotly, the removal of the captaincy from Daryl Mitchell proved a blessing in disguise to the veteran opener, who knocked a career-best seven centuries over the course of the season, finishing eighth in the Division Two batting table with an average of 55.04, a high score of 161 and a total of 1266 runs from April through to September.  With his trademark square cuts through the offside he remains a joy to watch in both first-class and one-day cricket, and though a question mark hangs over his place in the T20 batting order, the Pears will need Mitch to continue this form well into 2018.

In contrast it was simply a steady, reliable season from his fellow opener Brett D'Oliveira, whose 891 runs at an average of 35.64, with three centuries and a high score of 150, were an unsung aid to the county's title triumph.  In white-ball cricket he remains a good solid middle-order player, snagging two half-centuries in the One-Day Cup and one in the T20 Blast without really pushing on further.  Fingers crossed that Dolly's development carries on the same vein.

Sadly, 2017 was a year to forget for Tom Fell at number three, whose average of 14.68 and total of just 323 runs in the season saw him rank last by some considerable distance among the Pears batsmen, with a fair few bowlers faring better at the crease.  It's to the county's credit that they kept faith with Tom through this bad patch, and though I feel dropping him down the order a little might have taken some of the pressure off, the onus now is on putting this year behind him and trying to regain his past form bit by bit next season.

Joe Clarke, of course, remains a delight to watch in every format of the game.  His Root-like performances in first-class cricket are matched - and perhaps even surpassed - by his Buttler-like gift for innovation and ability to score 360 degrees around the wicket with the white ball.  Whereas his breakthrough season in 2016 often saw him alternate wildly between high and low scores, the watchword for Joe in 2017 was consistency, and the young man appears to be finding it in spades.  In the Championship, 920 runs at an average of 43.81 with two centuries and a high score of 142 places him second only to Daryl Mitchell; in the One-Day Cup he found things a little more tricky, with just one half-century to his name, but in the T20 Blast he made a damn good fist of filling the Kohler-Cadmore-shaped gap at the top of the order, putting the Bears to the sword at Edgbaston, racking up his maiden T20 century with an unbeaten 124 against Durham, and finishing the competition the highest-placed Pears batsman.  How long he'll remain at New Road is largely academic; the question is how long it'll be before he appears for England.

Filling Kohler-Cadmore's shoes as the fulcrum of the red-ball line-up fell to the coach's son George Rhodes, who also did his level best to plug the gap, finishing the season with a couple of half-centuries and a not-unreasonable average of 29.15.  Division One will be a big and sudden step up, but George has the right attitude to give it a real go.

Even allowing for my Pear-shaped specs, I honestly don't think there's a better pure wicketkeeper in England right now than Ben Cox.  Were it not for the twin misfortunes of playing Division Two cricket for the last two years and the national team selecting batsmen who can keep rather than vice versa, he'd already be in England contention.  But England's loss is Worcestershire's considerable gain, and Coxy did himself proud in 2017 with an average of 33.75 in the Championship including one century, and a half-century apiece in the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast.  As a middle-order batsman he's a rock-solid asset to the team, and as a keeper, one of the smartest and fastest around.

Moeen Ali, in his sporadic appearances, continued to demonstrate why he's well worth his England contract.  An average of 41.60 in his five Championship innings, including an influential 63 in the memorable midsummer clash against Kent, makes him among the pick of the crop this year.

And though 2017 may have been the year that first-class cricket finally proved beyond the ken of Ross Whiteley, it equally proved that there are few English power hitters in the white-ball game who can match him.  His six sixes in a single over against Yorkshire, albeit in a losing cause, was a delight.  If the Pears are ever to lift a limited-overs trophy again, it'll be with a team built around Whiteley.

On the bowling front, skipper Joe Leach led by example with a career-best haul of 69 wickets at an average of 19.39, including four five-fers and a maiden ten-fer.  He also topped the wicket-taking haul in the One-Day Cup, though in the T20 Blast - which big Joe has previously excelled at - it was sadly a year to forget.  Nevertheless, all the signs are good for the captain to prove himself next year in Division One.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Tongue was one of the revelations of 2017, claiming 47 wickets at an average of 25.79 in his first-ever Championship campaign, staking a firm claim as a new-ball strike bowler in the process.  With pace and swing all over the shop, there's every chance that Josh is another England prospect in the making.

No less astounding was the continuing development of Ed Barnard with both bat and ball.  The young all-rounder equalled Josh Tongue's 47 Championship wickets at a slightly lower average (and, by and large, with an old worn ball) while posting a creditable 580 runs at an average of 36.25, including five half-centuries.  In the One-Day Cup his average of 37.33 made him the pick of the Pears with the bat, and 20.33 in a wretched T20 Blast isn't to be sniffed at either.  His white-ball bowling still perhaps needs improvement, but there's a strong case to be made for young Ed being among the players of the season.

Ravi Ashwin deserves to go down as the man who saved our season, repaying the enjoyment he apparently gained from wandering the banks of the Severn in the early autumn evenings by taking 20 wickets at an average of 29.15; an average which would undoubtedly have been much, much lower were it not for the thankless pitches he played on against Notts and Leicestershire.

John Hastings, whilst having a few helpful flourishes of the bat here and there, largely flattered to deceive with the ball in his hand.  His form tailed off through the summer, and 16 wickets at 34.38 isn't what a county needs from their overseas player.  Nevertheless, he had an absolute stormer at Edgbaston in the T20, for which we will salute the Duke forevermore.

Of the youngsters, Pat Brown opened his Pears account with 6 Championship wickets at 33.17, while Alex Hepburn enjoyed the distinction of topping the rankings for Worcestershire bowlers in the T20 Blast after his unlikely five-fer against Notts, finishing the campaign on 6 wickets at an average of just 18.00.


Highlights of the year?  A nailbiting last-ball tie at Wantage Road in the One-Day Cup.  A Championship victory from the jaws of defeat against promotion rivals Kent in midsummer.  A thunderous T20 win against eventual finalists Birmingham at Edgbaston; the second in two years.  The first Championship win at Trent Bridge since 2000.  But above all, the moment when Joe Clarke took the catch that won the title.

And so until 2018, it's a fond farewell to New Road.

[Marco4]

Ravi Ashwin to Worcestershire was one of a couple of ludicrously good signings of spinners in Division 2. Unlike Yasir Shah at Kent, he worked out.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Having tied down the majority of the first team to new contracts and re-signed Steve Magoffin on a one-year domestic deal, more fantastic news for the Pears with Moeen Ali committing to five further years at New Road. Earlier in the season he looked likely to opt for a return to Edgbaston, but much to the annoyance of Bears fans, a lot has changed since then. Always a vital boost to the team when he's back from England duty, and an example to the younger players too.

Joe Clarke is now the one outstanding name to put pen to paper on a new deal. Fingers crossed.