[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 Blast, Northern Group

vs Nottinghamshire

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Worcs innings: The Pears won the toss and elected to bat on an exquisite August night. The start wasn't quite as exquisite, with the first three overs yielding only eleven runs and the wicket of Joe Clarke. However, the new partnership of Moeen Ali and Callum Ferguson meant business, and proceeded to put on a magnificent display of powerful yet cultured T20 cricket, finding the boundary with effortless and risk-free shots. Even when the former perished on 65, the Pears didn't ease up, and Fergie strolled to a century as Worcestershire posted a very handy 206-2.

Notts innings: For the reigning champions, Notts didn't half make a pig's ear of a feasible run-chase. The huge wicket of Alex Hales was the first to fall, claimed by the impressive Wayne Parnell who tempted the England opener into a lazy chip to mid-off; before the powerplay was over, Tom Moores had joined Hales back in the hutch thanks to the efforts of young Pat Brown, demonstrating exactly why he's the competition's leading wicket-taker. From that point on, Notts were always behind par and feeling the pressure. Only Steven Mullaney emerged from the innings with any credit, and his wicket fell to one of the most memorable run-outs of the season, entirely engineered by Ben Cox behind the stumps, who kidded the running Mullaney (with his back to the incoming ball) into believing there was plenty of time to make his ground, keeping his hands at his sides until the very second the ball came in, then snatching it from the air and whipping the bails off in an instant as a startled Mullaney vainly tried to ground his bat. The wheels came off there and then, and it required very little effort to mop up the tail, giving Worcestershire a thumping victory and a clear lead at the top of the group.

Worcestershire WIN by seventy-two runs

The Verdict: Another huge win that may just have booked a place in the quarter-finals for the first time in three years. Callum Ferguson continues to be one of the overseas signings of the season in the white-ball game, while the shrewd addition of Wayne Parnell is also paying dividends in terms of the experience our bowling attack now boasts. But it's the homegrown Pat Brown taking all the plaudits, and rightly so: after bowling the fatal final over in the One-Day Cup semi-final, the youngster has come back into white-ball cricket with guns blazing, and his twenty wickets in nine matches so far should be turning heads. Long may it continue.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 Blast, Northern Group

vs Derbyshire

New Road, Worcester

Worcs innings: The Pears won the toss and elected to bat on a cool, showery day in Worcester. Despite a decent start with plenty of boundaries, it soon became evident that the pitch was a tricky one to bat on, and when Wayne Parnell - freshly promoted to opener - top-edged one up in the air to be caught by Gary Wilson, it would doubtless have depressed all and sundry at New Road to have learned that his 12 was to be the second-highest tally on the Worcs scorecard. It was Joe Clarke we had to thank for dragging us up to a competitive score as wickets tumbled all around him, including a truly miserable middle-order collapse from 100-3 to 122-8. After a few disappointing outings of late for the young England hopeful, his 76 was the backbone of an innings that ended on the alarmingly lightweight score of 137-8.

Derby innings: In recent years, the frequent and justifiable criticism of Worcestershire as a white-ball team is that we simply rely too much on our batting. If your bowling attack leaks runs like a sieve then the pressure's always on your batsmen to score big, and you can never defend a low total. But - whisper it quietly - those days might just be over. There was some help from the pitch, which played just as awkwardly for the visitors as it did from the Pears, but from the moment Luke Wood pinned Ben Slater LBW off the third ball, the traffic was pretty one-way. By the end of the powerplay Derbyshire were just 23-3, and that became 28-4 the following over when George Rhodes took a bullet of a catch at backward point to claim the huge wicket of Wayne Madsen. To their credit, the visitors took it deep with a subsequent partnership of 53 between Godleman and Wilson, but leading wicket-taker Pat Brown added two more scalps to his tally at the death, beating the previous county best of 21 wickets in a T20 season by Saeed Ajmal, and handing Worcestershire what was, in the circumstances, a relatively comfortable 16-run victory.

Worcestershire WIN by sixteen runs

The Verdict: Back to the top of the table with three games to go, and it's now a mathematical certainty that Worcestershire will be playing a T20 quarter-final this month for the first time since 2015. Now it's simply a case of ensuring it's a home quarter-final, beginning with tomorrow night's match at Leicester.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 Blast, Northern Group

vs Birmingham

Edgbaston, Birmingham

Worcs innings: On a grey evening, the Bears won the toss and put the Pears in to bat. Worcestershire came into the game needing a win to return to the top two and secure a home quarter-final, as well as completing a clean sweep against the Bears in all available games this summer. A good solid start saw the visitors rattling along at just under ten an over until Joe Clarke was bowled, but the true powerhouse was Moeen, who made his second century of the summer at Edgbaston - and his first T20 ton for the Pears, surpassing his previous best of 90 against Northants in 2015 - in the course of pushing Worcs up to 209-5 off the twenty, breaking their own record against the Bears for the second time this campaign.

Birm innings: Somehow, in this fixture Worcestershire always end up in a proper game. There was some real punishment for the Pears bowlers in the powerplay, not least off Ed Pollock, who helped to keep the Bears ahead of the chase until he was caught behind off the ever-lethal Pat Brown. The game remained in the balance until the death with boundaries and wickets coming at regular intervals, and though Worcestershire kept things on a relatively tight leash, forcing the home side into a position of needing 38 off the last 12 balls, Grant Elliott smashed Wayne Parnell for 4, 6 and 6 off the first three deliveries of the penultimate over, bringing it right down to 22 off 9. Credit to Parnell, he came back magnificently to finish the over with two singles and the wicket of Elliott, leaving Pat Brown to defend the last twenty runs. With no less than three dot balls, three runs conceded and a run out, Brown did so with effortless ease, and as news came through that Durham's tie with Derbyshire was abandoned due to rain, Worcestershire were celebrating not just a clean sweep over the Bears and a home quarter-final, but also taking the group title on net run-rate for the first time in the county's T20 history.

Worcestershire WIN by fifteen runs

Worcestershire are CHAMPIONS of the Northern Group

The Verdict: Considering how low my expectations were for this T20 campaign after two summers of misery in the shortest format, it's nothing short of astounding to see the Pears top the North Group in both white-ball tournaments this year, and it's richly deserved. A huge factor in our success is the coming-of-age of Pat Brown, who not only finishes the group stage as the highest wicket-taker, but also stands joint-fourth in the stakes of the most wickets taken in *any* English T20 campaign behind Alfonso Thomas (33), Danny Briggs (31) and Kieron Pollard (29).

As one of only two counties never to make finals day, the upcoming hurdle is the most important. Worcestershire will face Gloucestershire at New Road next Saturday for a place in the last four, but in the meantime, we travel to Scarborough on Sunday to attempt an unlikely escapology act in the County Championship.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division One

vs Yorkshire

Day One

Morning: The Pears put Yorkshire straight in to bat on a cloudy day in Scarborough with occasional sunny spells. They were rewarded with the early wicket of Harry Brook, followed an hour later by Adam Lyth, but the home side's stubborn resistance continued until Dillon Pennington had both Ballance and Kohler-Cadmore caught at point in a single over; the latter gone for a satisfying duck in his first red-ball game against his former county. At 63-4 those wickets made it indisputably Worcestershire's morning, though a simple chance dropped at slip granted the dangerous Kane Williamson a life on 18 and denied us the icing on the cake.

Afternoon: Williamson did his utmost to punish the Pears for the drop, forging a productive fifth-wicket partnership with Jonny Tattersall and making a fine 87. When the floodgates broke, it precipitated a middle-order collapse from Yorkshire with four wickets in four overs. Skipper Moeen Ali - captaining Worcestershire for the first time in seven years - bowled Williamson and had David Willey caught for a duck, while Pennington completed a four-wicket haul with the scalps of Tattersall and Bresnan. At 155-8 Worcs were well in control, but there was a frustrating wag of the tail before Ed Barnard mopped up the last two wickets, leaving the White Rose 216 all out at tea.

Evening: Any demons in the pitch had vacated the premises by the time Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell came out to bat after tea, and the opening pair put on a pretty comfortable 39-0 before bad light and rain forced an early close at five o'clock. Worcestershire will be disappointed not to have had the extra hour with two set batsmen on a placid pitch, but it remains very much their day. Monday morning's session will now be crucial: if overcast conditions and sea air get the ball moving, the Pears could well face the same baptism of fire as the Yorkshiremen on Sunday.

[themaclad]

And grinding them into the dust today, exquisite

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: There were no calamities by the sea for Worcestershire on Monday morning as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell safely negotiated the first hour, producing an assured batting performance that belied both Yorkshire's showing on Sunday, and pretty much every other innings the Pears themselves have played all season. A little before lunch, Nelson struck as Fell was pinned LBW by Jack Brooks, but that would prove the only ray of sunshine for the home side on a long, grey day.

Afternoon: With Moeen Ali at the crease, Worcestershire continued to grind down the Yorkshire bowling attack all afternoon, giving Mitch ample time to complete the thirty-third century of his first-class career; a timely ton that lifted him up to seventh in the county's list of all-time century-makers, above both Ron Headley and Tom Moody. The session concluded early as a band of rain swept in, but the Pears had already achieved parity and begun to set a first-innings lead with nine wickets still in hand.

Evening: The rain persisted for an hour and a half, but upon resumption at 4:50 everything continued as it had before. Moeen continued to find the boundary with ease en route to completing his own twentieth first-class century - his first for Worcestershire in the Championship since April 2016 - and not long after, he was dropped by Matt Fisher at long leg in the last action before bad light forced an early conclusion for the second day in a row. Worcestershire close on 310-1 with a first-innings lead of 94 runs, and license to go hard tomorrow. Mitch and Mo are closing in on a record second-wicket partnership for the county, and it'd be great to see them complete that; otherwise, the task is simply to push the lead up to 300+ within the first couple of sessions and then set about bowling Yorkshire out for a vital win.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: Fully twenty-four hours passed without the fall of a Worcestershire wicket, and by the time Daryl Mitchell finally perished to a slip catch off the bowling of Adam Lyth, he and Moeen had shattered the record second-wicket partnership for the Pears against Yorkshire, beating the 231 made by Glenn Turner and Phil Neale at New Road in 1981 and falling only 23 short of an all-time county record. Having worn his pads for an entire day without wielding a bat in anger, Joe Clarke came to the crease and made a fluent 34 before departing LBW to Lyth in the last over before lunch.

Afternoon: The milestones came thick and fast as Moeen made his double century and Worcestershire set a new record innings total against Yorkshire, comfortably beating the 456-8 set at New Road in 1904. The skipper was finally caught at point off Bresnan for 219, the second-highest score of his career after the 250 against Glamorgan in 2013, but still the Pears continued to make hay until the inevitable declaration at 572-7, with a first-innings lead of 356. Not content with merely having dominated Yorkshire with the bat, Moeen promptly set about them with the ball as well, removing Adam Lyth LBW in his first over and having Harry Brook caught at mid-on, leaving the home side 43-2 at tea, 313 in arrears.

Evening: The wickets continued to fall in the glorious evening sunshine, with Moeen having Gary Ballance caught at second slip for 19 and Tom Kohler-Cadmore dismissed LBW for 8. Kane Williamson remained the great hope for the White Rose, but Wayne Parnell (who had, until that point, looked bang average in the bowling attack) struck to have the Kiwi caught behind for 61, flashing outside his off-stump to provide a first Championship wicket for Worcestershire's South African paceman. He followed it up by having Tim Bresnan caught at slip for a duck, leaving Yorkshire 140-6 at close and needing 216 more runs just to avoid the innings defeat. A fantastic day for the Pears in what's proving to be the county's best Division One performance for years. Barring an astonishing turnaround, the visitors will tomorrow be looking at a maximum points victory, while the home side take just a solitary batting point from the game; a huge boon in the fight against the drop.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Morning: And it was all wrapped up in half an hour on Wednesday morning as Moeen went to work on the tail, bowling David Willey with a ball that turned sharply and then dismissing Matt Fisher with a nick behind for a duck, before passing the baton on to Dillon Pennington, who removed Jack Brooks with a searing yorker and Josh Poysden with an edge to slip. An utterly commanding performance of the kind that comes all too rarely for the Pears in Division One, a first Championship win over Yorkshire since the six-wicket triumph at Kidderminster in 2007, a first victory at Marine Road since 2003, and all in all, a magnificent four days beside the seaside.

Worcestershire WIN by an innings and one hundred and eighty-six runs

The Verdict: The rarest of things; a Championship match where Worcestershire didn't put a foot wrong. The 24-1 points split makes a big difference to the table, and if the Pears can produce a few more showings like this in the weeks that remain, survival may yet be on the cards. The rollercoaster continues at Southport next Wednesday against Lancashire.

In the meantime, there's the small matter of a T20 quarter-final at New Road this Saturday...

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 Blast, Quarter-Final

vs Gloucestershire

New Road, Worcester

Gloucs innings: Worcestershire won the toss and put Gloucestershire in to bat on a fine late-summer afternoon. It looked an iffy decision early on as the visitors racked up the runs in the powerplay, reaching 65-0 with little effort or alarm, and the Pears couldn't get any kind of foothold in the game until Daryl Mitchell came on and immediately removed the in-form Miles Hammond for 45. At that point, the innings turned. Dolly took the big wicket of Michael Klinger by tempting him into a reckless slog to long-on, then caught a top-edged steepler from Benny Howell off his own bowling to leave Gloucs 85-3. Nor did he stop there, as Ryan Higgins departed in exactly the same fashion as Klinger before Jack Taylor was clean bowled by a rank half-tracker so slow that it deceived the batsman and almost bounced twice before hitting the stumps. With his best-ever bowling figures in a T20 game, Dolly then made way for Wayne Parnell to see out the innings, and after the overseas man had removed Gareth Roderick and AJ Tye, Gloucestershire finished their twenty overs on a very lightweight 136-8.

Worcs innings: A lengthy rain delay allowed nerves to build for over an hour as the suspicion took hold that Worcestershire would find a way of losing early wickets, press the panic button and then bottle a straightforward chase. And it was so nearly the case, as Moeen went LBW in the second over and Joe Clarke followed him back into the hutch after an ill-judged pull straight down the throat of deep square leg. Gloucestershire mirrored the Worcs bowling tactics from the first innings, going with pace off the ball throughout the middle overs, and were rewarded when both Dolly and Ben Cox were deceived by slow balls that they chipped straight to mid-on. A little after the halfway point it was 66-4, the run-rate was climbing as the dot balls stacked up and the boundaries dried up, and everything felt horribly familiar on Planet Worcestershire. Thank the cricket gods, then, for this season's star signing Callum Ferguson, who seized the innings by the scruff of the neck and used all his experience to keep the scoreboard ticking over with minimal risk. The fifth-wicket partnership kept the Pears well in touch until the sixteenth over, when Ross Whiteley finally (and inevitably) put his foot down. A 22-run over from David Payne, replete with wides and no-balls, permitted Whiteley to smash one huge six down the ground and another over deep midwicket before he perished attempting a third over extra cover; nevertheless, the rate was down below a run a ball, and the visitors somewhat went to pieces. There were no figurative fireworks at the death as it all ended in an amusing anti-climax: with just 3 more runs needed, Matt Taylor sent down a waist-high full toss which Ed Barnard happily nicked for a single, and the no-ball signal from the umpire took Worcestershire across the line and treated us all to a moment we thought would never come.

Worcestershire WIN by five wickets

The Verdict: Far from the most comfortable victory you'll ever see, but I doubt you'd find a Pear who cares. A win that was fifteen years in the making breaks Worcestershire's long T20 curse and takes the county to their first ever Finals Day, as well as providing us with a first knockout win in white-ball cricket since May 2005. After the heartbreak of the One-Day Cup semi in June, you can't help but feel that this young, local, homegrown side has finally come of age and got the reward they deserve. No pressure or expectations now for September 15th; just go out and enjoy the occasion.

Before then, of course, there's the minor matter of a trip to Southport on Wednesday, when Worcestershire will continue to try and salvage a difficult Championship campaign against Lancashire.

[themaclad]

Lancashire v Worcestershire in the semifinals