[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: The longest day of the year was a glorious one in every respect as the Pears seized this match by the scruff of the neck. It took just three overs to dismiss Dane Vilas, and Jordan Clark followed him back to the pavilion four balls later as Ed Barnard claimed another five-fer; perhaps a unique one in Worcestershire history if not cricket history, as all five scalps were ducks. The big wicket of Keaton Jennings fell to Steve Magoffin, and with Bailey and Onions departing in consecutive balls, Lancashire were all out for 130 by noon, gifting the home side a first-innings lead of 117. Still, wary of the collapse that both teams had suffered, Daryl Mitchell and Martin Guptill played a watchful knock to guide the Pears to the interval without loss.

Afternoon: However, it didn't take long for the runs to flow. In the afternoon sun, Mitchell and Guptill came out and attacked the Lancashire bowling with a vengeance. The opening stand piled on no less than 215 runs before our Kiwi debutant copped an off-cutter from Tom Bailey that dismissed him LBW for 111. Nevertheless, Worcestershire continued to attack, with Mitch making his second century of the match - the fourth occasion on which he's achieved that distinction, equalling the great Graeme Hick - ably supported by Tom Fell, and making nearly 200 runs in a single session.

Evening: The two set batsmen continued to score for fun until the last half-hour of the day, when a weary Mitch - having been on the field for every minute of this match so far - was finally caught behind off the bowling of Jordan Clark. A bit annoyingly from a Worcs perspective, that prompted a late wobble which also saw Ed Barnard and Tom Fell depart, but the pendulum had already swung decisively in the home team's favour. The Pears close on 354-4 with a stonking lead of 478 runs, and it's now simply a question of when acting-captain D'Oliveira elects to make the inevitable declaration. The weather's set fair and we have two days of cricket ahead of us, so there should be no harm in batting till lunch tomorrow and pushing the lead well up past 500.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: On a wonderfully warm and sunny Friday, aggression was the watchword from the Pears. Some early movement of the ball cost Joe Clarke and Dolly their wickets, but the lead was already up above 502 - the highest score successfully chased in the County Championship, way back in 1925 - and newcomers to the crease Ben Cox and Ross Whiteley had license to motor onward. A torrent of fours and sixes followed, carrying the home side to 484-7 with a lead of 601, at which point Dolly at last deemed it safe to declare. To win, Lancashire would need nothing less than the largest run chase in the history of first-class cricket worldwide. It was with that paltry task before them that Keaton Jennings and Alex Davies made their way out to the middle and steered the visitors to 34-0 at lunch.

Afternoon: There are times at Worcestershire County Cricket Club when even a 600-run cushion doesn't feel particularly safe. Most of the afternoon session fell into this category, as Jennings and Davies put together a 126-run first-wicket partnership on a pitch devoid of menace. The session was nearly over when Dolly brought himself into the attack and came within a whisker of removing Jennings, only for Ross Whiteley to drop a simple chance at slip. The Pears faithful were still bemoaning that missed chance when Alex Davies shaped to play a cut at the next delivery, swiped grotesquely at the ball and was struck plumb on the back pad. With the score 154-1 at tea, things looked a little better.

Evening: Haseeb Hameed really is having a torrid time of it, and his troubles only grew half an hour into the evening session when he got himself out attempting a leave for the second time this match. Acting skipper Dolly sent down a fantastic googly which Hameed failed to pick, offering no shot and thrusting his front pad forward at the last instant to block the ball outside off-stump as it turned back on him. The pitch remained friendly to the batsmen, and Jennings was able to complete his century without too much trouble or bother, but his partners continued to lose their wickets after making decent starts. Both Shiv Chanderpaul and Rob Jones were dismissed in identical fashion, caught behind off the bowling of Charlie Morris by Cox standing up to the stumps. At close, Lancashire were 269-4 and needing a further 333 to win with Jennings unbeaten on 135. If he can stay at the crease for the majority of Saturday then a draw or win for the visitors isn't out of the question, though he'd need good support and contributions from the other end. For the Pears, anything but a win from this position would be an abysmal failure; with the new ball due in three overs and the conditions at New Road notoriously bowler-friendly in the first hour of each day, we have to aim for a couple of dismissals before noon, with Jennings the prize wicket.

We've had precisely 1,130 runs in three days of cricket, with the sun shining bright and all three results still technically possible. A remarkable game by any standard.

[themaclad]

Jennings triple century coming up win by two wickets

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Morning: Despite the new ball there was no breakthrough for over an hour on Saturday morning, and as Jennings and Vilas knocked off runs with gusto, it was squeaky bum time at New Road. An audible sigh of relief greeted the inswinger from Ed Barnard that removed Vilas a little after noon, but still Keaton the Unbeaten laboured away to keep fears of a humiliation alive until the very stroke of lunch, when young Pat Brown - going from strength to strength this year - got a full-length ball to keep low and beat the bat of Jennings as he attempted a back-foot defensive, striking the base of off-stump and leaving the visitors 360-6 at the session's end.

Afternoon: For an hour after the break, Danny Lamb and Jordan Clark put up admirable resistance and kept the scoreboard ticking over for Lancashire, but when the end finally arrived it came quickly. Only one run was scored for the last four wickets as the dangerous Clark was caught behind for the first dismissal off the bowling of Ross Whiteley in fully three years; with the door wide open, Ed Barnard was happy to oblige in mopping up the tail, finishing the match only one wicket short of what would have been his second 10w haul of the season. Truth be told, Lancashire made a creditable fist of a world record run chase, and had Worcs declared on 500 then we might have seen a very different game unfold as the visitors chipped away at the target and the cushion slowly eroded. However, the Pears managed the game perfectly, and the result is all the sweeter for the nine-month wait.

Worcestershire WIN by two hundred and two runs

The Verdict: You can't go too far wrong when there's a D'Oliveira captaining Worcestershire, and sure enough, young Dolly got his first spell as skipper off to a dream start this week. A first Championship win of the season is the perfect tonic to our One-Day Cup exit, and it's very much deserved after performances that deserved better outcomes against Surrey and Essex in May. Whether it'll make a blind bit of difference to our ultimate fate, only time will tell, but logic suggests that only another eight victories in this vein will repair the damage of an abysmal spring and enable an unlikely survival story.

For the time being, Dolly and the lads have to take it game by game, starting with a tough day/night clash at Trent Bridge this coming week.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division One

vs Nottinghamshire

Day One

Afternoon: Worcestershire's inaugural day/nighter this time last year was a disastrous washout up at Chester-le-Street, but hopes were a lot higher for Trent Bridge on the first day of a promised heatwave. However, skipper Brett D'Oliveira, who rightly gained plenty of plaudits for last week's victory over Lancashire, made perhaps the first shocking decision of his captaincy at two o'clock when the Pears elected not to contest the toss, and instead put Notts directly in to bat on the hottest day of the year so far. To compound matters, the visitors were without talisman Ed Barnard after his richly-deserved call-up to England Lions this week, and so the bowling attack was even more makeshift and inexperienced than usual. Despite a return for spinner Ben Twohig and a first-class debut for Dillon Pennington, Worcestershire failed to make a breakthrough in the first session as Notts made hay while the sun shone.

Evening: The dogged persistence of the Worcs attack at last earned a reward as Jake Libby was caught at slip off the bowling of Twohig. However, that was the only wicket to fall for the majority of the day as Notts reached the supper interval on 209-1.

Night: After a long day's thankless toil, the pendulum swung a little more in Worcestershire's favour in the final hour of play as Martin Guptill, in his first bowling spell for the county, dismissed Nash LBW. Two overs later, with the second new ball, Steve Magoffin succeeded in bowling Samit Patel and then having Billy Root caught behind off the very next ball. There was no hat-trick for the veteran, but he did succeed in claiming the scalp of Ross Taylor for a duck a couple of overs later, leaving Notts 336-5 at close; a far better outcome to the day than the Pears had dared hope for at eight o'clock.


Monday also saw Pears cult hero Jack Shantry announce his retirement due to injury troubles. His appearances have been few and far between for a good couple of years, but his peculiar bowling action was always a sight to see - claiming 57 Championship wickets in our last Division One outing in 2015 - as well as being no mug with bat in hand. He and Joe Hart were fellow goalkeepers and cricketers in their schooldays, and the word is that Hart was always considered Shantry's understudy between the sticks. Both men were ultimately given the choice of whether to pursue cricket or football professionally, and in another world we might have seen Jack Shantry pulling off wonder-saves to keep England in the 2014 World Cup while Joe Hart led Worcestershire to triumph with a century and a 10w haul against Surrey in the County Championship, just as his former schoolmate did in his most memorable match. But reality instead gave us a solid county cricketer and a great club servant in Jack Shantry, and his performances will be missed. I wish him every success in years to come as an ambassador for the Pears and as a future umpire.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Afternoon: The weather remained glorious, but there was just no end to Worcestershire's woes on Tuesday. The Notts innings ended in an inevitable declaration on 499-9, with the visitors requiring 350 just to avoid the follow-on.

Evening: But against a first-choice bowling attack including Stuart Broad, there was just too much quality for the Pears to rack up the runs as the home side did. Daryl Mitchell and Martin Guptill came and went rather tamely, and only Joe Clarke made anything approaching a score during the sun-bathed evening session.

Night: It was twilight that really did for a weary Worcestershire, as wickets tumbled in the lengthening shadows. The visitors closed on 215-7, with Ross Whiteley the only recognised batsman remaining at the crease and a miracle needed to avoid the follow-on.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Afternoon: It was almost a lone hand, but Ross Whiteley did everything in his power to try and push Worcestershire up to the follow-on total in Wednesday's first session, before being bowled by Chris Nash for a superb 76. The visitors were all out for 287, still trailing by 212, but Notts elected not to enforce the follow-on, and Dillon Pennington soon claimed his maiden first-class wicket by dismissing Nash LBW.

Evening: Sadly, it was all a familiar story thereafter as the weakened Worcs bowling attack struggled to gain movement from the pink ball, and the home side were able to score with reasonable ease. If there was a moment to be proud of, it was in the sportsmanship of Dolly, who quelled the Pears appeals for an obvious run-out after Samit Patel collided with Whiteley while trying to make his ground.

Night: The second declaration of the match came with an hour and a half remaining, and it was left to Daryl Mitchell and Martin Guptill to see out the nineteen overs of play remaining in the gathering gloom. To their credit, they succeeded in doing so, and Worcestershire closed on 43-0 needing 419 more to win. Frankly, after getting battered for three days straight the first priority tomorrow is to aim for the draw, and every batsmen has to go out with the objective of surviving ball by ball, over by over, session by session. If there are less than five wickets to take by twilight, Notts will back themselves to win, and it's vital that we take no chances.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Afternoon: Yet another day that laid claim to being the hottest of the year so far, and though Worcestershire got off to a bright start with 17 runs off the first two overs, suggesting the team might fancy their chances of poaching the 419 needed for victory, the subsequent loss of Daryl Mitchell to a careless tickle down the legside soon put the brakes on. Martin Guptill was the next to go, caught at silly mid-off, and on the stroke of the interval the Pears also lost Tom Fell to an edge behind, leaving them 151-3.

Evening: The session was scarcely ten minutes old when Jake Libby took a one-handed wonder catch to remove Dolly, and though the fifth-wicket partnership lasted over an hour, Ben Cox also departed a little before six o'clock, having been granted a life with a dropped catch early in his innings. From that point on, the key for Worcestershire was always going to be young Joe Clarke, and he shepherded the visitors to the break on 248-5 with just one more run required to bring up his century.

Night: The first over of the game's final session saw Clarke complete his ton, but the job was far from done. As the shadows lengthened, Notts drew an edge from Ross Whiteley to take the sixth wicket and expose the Worcs tail; for an hour and a half thereafter, it was down to young spinner Ben Twohig to stick with Clarke at the crease, and he did admirably until Luke Fletcher beat him with a fast length ball that took his off-stump out of the ground with just four overs to go. Debutant Dillon Pennington came out and survived five balls of a maiden over from Fletcher, only to play an unnecessary flick down the legside into the gloves of the keeper off the final delivery, leaving the Pears eight down with twelve balls remaining. Six of those were summarily dismissed by the imperious Joe Clarke, who steered his way to an effortless 177 not out, and with the tension building around Trent Bridge, it was Charlie Morris who saw out the remainder to give Worcestershire a hard-fought - but on the basis of Thursday's exertions, thoroughly deserved - draw.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: When two teams so drastically mismatched go head to head and the stronger team dominates the first three days, to come away with a draw feels as good as a win. Joe Clarke was the man of the hour, and he can't have done his chances of getting a look-in for the England Test side any harm with this superb second-innings knock. It's all very tight at the foot of the table, and survival remains unlikely, but Worcestershire are at least giving themselves a fighting chance.

After a week's break, the Pears will be back in action next Thursday in the 2018 T20 Blast.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 Blast, Northern Group

vs Lancashire

Old Trafford, Manchester

Lancs innings: Lancashire won the toss and elected to bat on yet another radiant summer evening. New loanee Luke Wood opened the bowling for the Pears, and as one of two stand-ins for the absent Leach and Tongue, he succeeded in keeping the home side beneath a run-rate of 10.00 in the powerplay, which was a minor success on a night with a good pitch and a fast outfield. Nevertheless, it was Daryl Mitchell who struck first to remove Liam Livingstone; a breakthrough exploited just three balls later by Dolly, who dismissed Alex Davies with his first delivery of the match. From that point on, Keaton Jennings was the major threat for Lancs, making a 37-ball half-century as partners came and went around him, and it was Wood who claimed that prize scalp as his maiden Pears wicket with the first ball of his second spell. However, some big hitting at the death pushed the Red Rose up to a competitive score of 188 off their twenty overs, ensuring that a Worcestershire side who've struggled in this format for over two years would have to come out with guns blazing to make a winning start to this campaign.

Worcs innings: A very enterprising powerplay saw the Pears get precisely the start they required, losing only Martin Guptill to a lazy chip to mid-on in the fourth over. Still, after the departure of Joe Clarke on 84-2, the brakes went on for the visitors and the run-rate began to steadily climb. Both Callum Ferguson and Ben Cox made important contributions, but as the boundaries dried up, the Pears found themselves needing twelve an over at the death. This didn't appear to fluster skipper Dolly, who waited for the occasional bad ball to pick up the necessary fours, and Ross Whiteley got in on the act with some characteristic sixes down the ground to bring it down to a run a ball off the last eight deliveries. However, there was time for a wobble in the final over; trying to finish it with one hit, Whiteley instead holed out to Arron Lilley in the deep, leaving the visitors requiring four more off the last three balls. When Dolly pinched a single off the next delivery, it was down to Steady Ed Barnard to lift an effortless four over the infield, giving Worcestershire the best possible start to a competition for which many of us feared the worst.

Worcestershire WIN by five wickets

The Verdict: After 2017's abysmal showing in the game's shortest format, kicking off with an away win is an unexpected delight. Whether the chase was a well-managed strategy for victory or rather a haphazard affair which nearly ended in disaster is, I suppose, a matter of perspective. Still, with Guptill and Fergie looking in good nick and the bowling attack patched up by the additions of Wood and Andy Carter, there's a possibility that Worcestershire may not struggle in this summer's Blast as we did in 2016 and 2017. Tomorrow, of course, comes the acid test as Birmingham roll into town.

[themaclad]

And we play Aaon Lilley as a pin shitter I despair