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Day Three

Morning: A cooler, cloudier and windier Tuesday on the banks of the Severn, and after a brief delay, the match resumed more or less where it had left off, with Michael Neser finding extra lift in the pitch to claim the edge of Gareth Roderick, caught at third slip for 6. It became a double blow when Joe Leach edged behind for 2 on the drive, but the incoming Josh Baker showed some fight at the crease, creaming a cover-drive to the boundary to bring up the 300 lead while nightwatchman Charlie Morris supported at the other end. Two wickets in two balls shortly after midday closed the innings with Worcs 199 all out, setting a target of 332 for Glamorgan to win, and Morris then made the first breakthrough with the ball before lunch, having David Lloyd caught at mid-off for 13. The visitors were 36-1 at the interval, mixing a bright start with some hefty doses of luck.

Afternoon: The Glamorgan rebuild ended when Baker drew Eddie Byrom into his second ill-advised reverse sweep in as many balls, looping a top edge into the air for a comfortable running catch at slip, and as Morris held down one end with some supremely disciplined bowling, going for just one an over, the seamer was rewarded with the scalp of Sam Northeast, who cut hard at a short wide ball with extra bounce only to loft it into the hands of third man for 13. Those two wickets were hard-earned in a session that saw Glamorgan enjoy some luck with inside edges whizzing past the stumps and outside edges not carrying to slip, but also some ominous signs that the pitch was no longer offering the kind of assistance that it had in previous innings. 117-3 at tea.

Evening: After continuing to tie down the batsmen, there was every cause for optimism when Dillon Pennington drew some lift from a delivery short of a length and a surprised Kiran Carlson gloved behind for 5, leaving the visitors 133-4. But for most of the evening that was as good as it got, as a partnership of 95 between Colin Ingram and Billy Root gradually swung the pendulum in Glamorgan's favour. It was looking like an increasingly hopeless cause until ten past six, when the hitherto luckless Ed Barnard - who'd beaten the bat countless times, had Ingram dropped at slip and been denied a strong caught behind shout - finally got the benefit of the doubt on a marginal LBW decision to see off the centurion Ingram for 102. 232-5 at stumps, Glamorgan require precisely 100 runs to win and Worcestershire 5 wickets, with the new ball due immediately upon the resumption. Simply put, the match will now hinge on that first hour with the new nut; three reasonably quick wickets for sixty runs or fewer will hand the advantage back to the Pears, but if the Welshmen weather the storm (as they've managed admirably in the first eighty overs), they'll be firm favourites to knock off the required ton before lunch.

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County Championship, Division Two

vs Middlesex

Merchant Taylors School, Rickmanworth

Having blown the Glamorgan match from a winning position and triumphed only twice in the T20 campaign, Worcestershire were in desperate need of good news going into this crunch match against Middlesex at the tree-lined outground of Merchant Taylors; a venue at which the hosts had never lost.

Day One: Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat on a baking Monday morning in the middle of a July heatwave. It seemed a straightforward and sound decision in the circumstances, but outground wickets can throw up many a surprise, and the Merchant Taylors pitch certainly offered bounce, carry and a little seam movement for good measure. Inside five overs Joe Leach made the breakthrough, angling a ball in on a good length that straightened, beat Sam Robson's outside edge and sent the off stump cartwheeling. Dillon Pennington contributed two wickets when he bounced out Mark Stoneman for 18, top-edging an attempted pull to midwicket, while Jack Davies feathered behind attempting a leave. Ed Barnard bowled Robbie White for 2 with a full, quick ball that nipped in, and a fifth of the morning followed when Max Holden collided headlong with partner John Simpson while attempting to steal a second run off third man, being run out for 11. Leach then wrapped up a fine morning's work with a sixth wicket, dismissing Simpson LBW for 7 and sending Middlesex in for lunch 76-6. The hosts recovered somewhat in the afternoon despite the early loss of Toby Roland-Jones, caught behind for 10 off Charlie Morris, with Luke Hollman knocking a fine half-century before being bowled by Josh Baker for 62. Another wicket apiece for Leach and Baker wrapped up the Middlesex innings in time for tea, 188 all out, but the final session saw the Pears subside to 49-5 before a Barnard-led recovery carried the visitors to stumps on a precarious 100-5.

Day Two: A cloudy but sultry Tuesday in the Watfordian suburbs, and despite Ed Barnard completing yet another sound half-century with support from Josh Baker and the lower order, Worcestershire were bowled out for 191 and a first-innings lead of just 3. Things looked bleaker in the afternoon with the first fifteen overs of the new ball producing no wickets, and Middlesex motoring until Dillon Pennington claimed two scalps in three balls, bouncing out Stoneman for the second time in as many days and then forcing a leading edge from Jack Davies. Things evened up nicely when Joe Leach produced a one-handed catch at full stretch off his own bowling to dismiss Sam Robson for 35, and Josh Baker then bowled Max Holden for 8 to leave Middlesex 110-4 at tea. The young left-armer claimed a second after the interval, and John Simpson edged to second slip for 26 off Pennington soon after, but from 139-6 the hosts recovered to a daunting 180-6 by close, leading by 177 on a pitch where 200 looked like an impossible target.

Day Three: A scorching Wednesday commenced with Charlie Morris on a roll, bowling Toby Roland-Jones for 10 and having Tom Helm caught at mid-wicket for a duck, with the lead still only 185. But another decent showing from Luke Hollman piled on crucial runs before Josh Baker saw him off for 46, and Tim Murtagh nicking Joe Leach behind finished off the innings to set a victory target of 238 on a pitch showing all sorts of variable bounce and erratic movement off troublesome patches. It was, therefore, a vital twelve-over spell before lunch that Ed Pollock and Jake Libby not only weathered but dominated, scoring at exactly five an over to get the chase off to a positive start of 60-0 at the break. Even when Libby was caught behind for 31, there was simply no stopping Pollock as the young man reached his fifty, swatting boundaries with ease and throwing the Middlesex bowlers off their line and length as they struggled to adapt to a left-hander able to pull and flick leg-side sixes at will. With sterling support from the watchful Taylor Cornall in just his third first-class innings, Pollock brought up his second Championship century in 67 balls, the fastest for Worcestershire since Phil Jaques' match-winning 64-ball ton at the Oval in May 2006, and the back of the chase was all but broken by the time he perished on 113, with Worcs needing just 71 more. Making his return from injury, Jack Haynes contributed a breezy cameo of 18, and his departure brought Brett D'Oliveira to the crease for a spot of Basil-ball. With a series of intrepid ramps, dismissive pulls and the odd glorious drive, the skipper knocked off the remainder in style and wrapped up a vital win with a four through backward point, breaching Fortress Merchant Taylors for the first time.

Worcestershire WIN by seven wickets

The Verdict: A summer of unfeasible, topsy-turvy chases nationwide continues apace, and if the hosts have their doubts about the quality of the outground pitch - with some balls on day three rearing up dangerously off a length - they can't argue about the fact that they were outplayed over three days by an understrength Worcestershire side. The bowling unit formed a plan and stuck well at their task, and though the first-innings batting left a lot to be desired, Ed Pollock's eventual demolition of an international-quality attack was a performance that will be remembered for a long time. It's been a tough first season of Championship cricket for the young opener, and when things go wrong for him they tend to go very badly indeed; but this effort demonstrated what his devil-may-care attitude and unconventional style can achieve on a good day. Taylor Cornall also deserves plaudits for his contrasting innings; unruffled and unhurried, easing his way to a new first-class best of 31, despite arriving at the crease at a point when a second quick wicket could have changed the game completely. More of the same may just resurrect an ailing season.

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Leading Run-Scorers

1. Ed Barnard - 734 (73.40)
2. Jack Haynes - 621 (56.45)
3. Azhar Ali - 607 (46.69)
4. Brett D'Oliveira - 593 (65.88)
5. Ed Pollock - 455 (32.50)


Leading Wicket-Takers

1. Joe Leach - 23 (22.26)
2. Dillon Pennington - 21 (27.23)
3. Charlie Morris - 21 (30.57)
4. Josh Baker - 21 (44.76)
5. Ed Barnard - 20 (45.05)

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Northamptonshire

Wantage Road, Northampton

After a truly godawful five defeats on the bounce to commence the 2022 One-Day Cup, having barely scraped past Herefordshire in the warm-up game, the Pears travelled to Wantage Road on an autumnal August day to try and salvage something from the summer's white-ball disaster.

Northants innings: Worcestershire won the toss and put Northants in to bat in overcast conditions, leading to an early wicket for Ben Gibbon who dismissed Emilio Gay LBW for 7. New man Will Young then survived an LBW shout of his own before rain interrupted the innings at twenty to noon, with the home side 44-1. The action resumed at one o'clock with 42 overs per side scheduled, but it was some time before Adam Finch was able to break the increasingly lucrative partnership, bowling Ricardo Vasconcelos with a quick straight ball that seamed in slightly to the left-hander. That breakthrough brought another when Gibbon hit the stumps directly with a throw from the third man boundary to run out Saif Zaib for 1 before the rain returned. With the overs reduced to 39 per side and Northants 206-3 after a century partnership, some gut-wrenching death bowling allowed the hosts to hoist themselves up to a commanding score. Lewis McManus holed out in the deep at the end of the penultimate over off Dillon Pennington, but Young sent Finch the full distance off the last to reach his century and close the innings on 248-4, setting a Duckworth-Lewis adjusted target of 254 to win.

Worcs innings: Early wickets have been the great curse for Worcs in this year's competition, so the steady opening partnership of Azhar Ali and Taylor Cornall was precisely what the doctor ordered, the former finding the boundary off the third ball with a fierce square cut, while the latter showcased his superb talent for the straight drive. With both openers reaching a half-century and three figures on the scoreboard for no loss, it was Cornall who eventually ran out of luck, caught at mid-on for 61 with the Pears 138-1. Gareth Roderick came and went quickly with a timely exhibit of How Not To Play A Ramp Shot, but returned as a runner for the injured Azhar as the latter clipped the ball one-legged to the boundary for his first white-ball Worcs ton. He went on to make his best List A score in England, surpassing his 110 for Somerset in 2019, but fell for 130 two short of his best-ever score in the format in 2016. With Northants piling a bit of late pressure on, briefly pushing the run-rate back up above a run a ball in the dying overs, Ed Barnard struck a few vital boundaries to carry the Pears within a whisker of the target before perishing in the final over, and Jake Libby struck the winning four to give Worcestershire the elusive taste of one-day triumph.

Worcestershire WIN by six wickets

The Verdict: It's frustrating to see things click so late in the day, with only dead rubbers left for the team to play, but with any luck some of the individual performances in this long-overdue win may give the players confidence going forward and allow for lessons to be learned next summer.

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A sad week at New Road as nine-year Pears veteran Tom Fell is confirmed to be leaving the county at the end of the season along with youngsters Jacques Banton and Josh Dell. 97 first-class matches yielded 4485 runs for Fell, but five of his six centuries came prior to his cancer diagnosis in late 2015, and despite enormous goodwill upon his return, his career average fell away over the course of five years to 28.75, well short of what Worcs needed at number three. Only 29 next summer, hopefully he can find another county and make a fresh start, as it would be a shame for his career to fizzle out entirely after such a promising start.

Josh Dell, 25 in the autumn, made seven first-class appearances in 2019 when he was favoured ahead of Jack Haynes as a replacement for Joe Clarke. He was dropped in at the deep end and shuffled somewhat abruptly around the top order during a difficult season in which he contributed 158 runs at 13.16, with a high score of 61. Banton - a 21-year-old slow left-armer presumably considered surplus to requirements behind Josh Baker - debuted last summer in List A cricket and this summer in T20, contributing 56 runs and 4 wickets from three appearances in the longer format, and a golden duck from a single ball faced in the shorter, with his sole over bowled returning figures of 1-6. Best of luck to both of them in their future endeavours.

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Essex

New Road, Worcester

Essex innings: The Pears won the toss and put Essex in to bat on a bright Thursday morning in mid-August. A reasonably economic start yielded a breakthrough when Ben Gibbon tempted Josh Rymell into a checked drive which sent an edge flying high to first slip. Four balls later, Dillon Pennington took the prize scalp of in-form Tom Westley, LBW for a golden duck, and the visitors were suddenly 40-2. After a brief rebuild with a decent run-rate, Josh Tongue marked his return from a fourteen-month injury lay-off when both set batsmen - Grant Roelofsen on 31 and Feroze Khushi on 43 - were caught behind down the leg-side off his bowling. Nick Browne's attempt at a quick single to point resulted in a direct hit from Ed Barnard, leaving Essex 135-5, and though another acceleration followed from Luc Benkenstein and Robin Das, the latter holed out to Barnard for 63 to prompt a late clatter of wickets. Gibbon saw off Aron Nijjar with a top edge, and Benkenstein went in the same fashion, caught and bowled by Pennington, who proceeded to bowl Jamal Richards with his very next delivery. Shane Snater lifted the total up to a respectable 279-9, but on a good batting pitch it felt like a lightweight score.

Worcs innings: He hasn't had the best of competitions, but Ed Pollock showed a glimpse of his best form in getting the Pears off to a flyer in the chase, before he was bowled by Jamal Richards for 34. But Taylor Cornall, who'd played second fiddle in the opening partnership, took up the mantle and continued to impress with his intelligent shots, especially straight drives back past the bowler, as he raced to a 59-ball fifty. Gareth Roderick showed strong support, reaching his maiden List A half-century in Worcs colours, but his fondness for a reverse sweep proved his downfall when the stroke had him caught at point for 76. The runs ticked over nicely for Cornall en route to what would have been his first professional century, but on 97 he was dismissed LBW by Benkenstein, falling agonisingly short of the milestone. Nevertheless, there were no great alarms for Ed Barnard and Jake Libby as they knocked off the 57 runs required to establish that rarest of things: a Worcestershire winning streak.

Worcestershire WIN by seven wickets

The Verdict: Again, a certain sense of frustration that this run of form has come too late to make a difference to the competition for us, but as the saying goes, better late than never. Taylor Cornall is showing signs of being a real find, and the return of Josh Tongue is reason to be cheerful any day of the week. If we can continue the streak against Glamorgan in Tuesday, it may just have the positive effect on our Championship run-in that we desperately need.

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With the distinctly underwhelming white-ball summer at New Road finished, the full post-mortem can commence.

Leading Run-Scorers

T20

1. Colin Munro - 323 (26.91)
2. Brett D'Oliveira - 315 (24.23)
3. Jack Haynes - 235 (29.37)
4. Ed Barnard - 182 (15.16)
5. Ed Pollock - 148 (16.44)

List A

1. Jake Libby - 332 (66.40)
2. Taylor Cornall - 280 (40.00)
3. Ed Barnard - 256 (42.66)
4. Ben Cox - 253 (84.33)
5. Kashif Ali - 206 (51.50)


Leading Wicket-Takers

T20

1. Pat Brown - 14 (27.21)
2. Brett D'Oliveira - 12 (17.91)
3. Dwayne Bravo - 9 (31.11)
4. Ed Barnard - 8 (43.12)
5. Mitchell Stanley - 7 (22.14)

List A

1. Dillon Pennington - 10 (38.20)
2. Adam Finch - 8 (48.25)
3. Ben Gibbon - 7 (35.42)
4. Joe Leach - 7 (42.28)
5. Jake Libby - 4 (41.00)

Most economical T20 bowlers were Jacques Banton (6.00), Brett D'Oliveira (7.41) and Moeen Ali (7.90); in List A, Reece Evitts (3.50), Joe Leach (5.19) and Jake Libby (5.65).

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County Championship, Division Two

vs Glamorgan

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Adrift in mid-table, Worcestershire have four matches remaining to have a stab at an increasingly unlikely promotion.

Day One: Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bat on a cloudy Monday morning in early September. Early wickets were the result, with Jake Libby, Taylor Cornall and Jack Haynes all falling cheaply in the first ninety minutes, but the erratic Ed Pollock enjoyed one of his better days, shepherding the Pears to an even 88-3 at lunch and then making his half-century before being caught behind for 50. But a solid partnership between Gareth Roderick and Ed Barnard, with a brisk fifty for the latter, carried Worcs to an imposing 195-4 at tea. Roderick then completed his own half-century before Barnard departed LBW in the last over before the new ball, exposing the middle order to the new nut; two further wickets fell in a late wobble, leaving the visitors 285-7 at close, a rather more even day than it might otherwise have been.

Day Two: On a rain-plagued morning, Roderick and Joe Leach took the innings by the scruff of the neck again, the former completing his first ton for the county and the latter supplying a half-century as they set a new record eighth-wicket partnership for Worcs against Glamorgan, surpassing the 101 by Richard Illingworth and John Inchmore at New Road in 1982. That wicketless session took the visitors in to lunch on 372-7, and though Leach eventually fell for 87, there was time for Roderick to reach his best ever first-class score with 172 not out before the declaration came on 454-9. Ben Gibbon then claimed the first Glamorgan scalp as David Lloyd edged to second slip, and the hosts were 59-1 at tea. In a final session dogged by further rain and bad light, the young left-armer then struck a second time to remove Eddie Byrom caught behind. 111-2 at close, it was Worcestershire's day on balance.

Day Three: The weather was no better, but the Pears made the most of every opportunity on the field; Leach had Timm van der Gugten caught behind, Dillon Pennington bowled the dangerous Sam Northeast quickly and cheaply, then took a second with the very next ball. Rain brought an early lunch with Glamorgan 172-5, and wiped out the entire afternoon session, but after tea Worcs made up for lost time. Gibbon dismissed Billy Root LBW, Ed Barnard claimed the enormous wicket of the tenacious Shubman Gill with an admittedly iffy leg-before decision, and after a break for bad light, Pennington struck in the final over of the day to bowl James Harris and leave the hosts 241-8 at close, still sixty-odd runs short of the follow-on.

Day Four: With twelve wickets required for the win on yet another black day, Worcestershire did their all to set up a grandstand finish; Gibbon took his fourth wicket, and after a brief Glamorgan tail-wag with Michael Hogan throwing the bat at everything, Pennington had the number eleven caught with the hosts ten runs short of saving the follow-on. But sadly, it wasn't to be; the heavens opened nine balls into the second Glamorgan innings, and all attention turned to the sad news from Balmoral as the match was washed out.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: The perils and vagaries of autumn cricket. With another two and a half sessions in this match, it does feel like Worcestershire would have forced a positive result, but it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, the team played well with both bat and ball against tough opposition, which bodes well for the run-in.

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County Championship, Division Two

vs Sussex

Day One

Morning: Sussex won the toss and elected to bat on a bright and brisk Monday morning on the south coast. It was a fateful decision, and their ruing of it began just five balls into the innings when Joe Leach angled a fullish delivery towards off-stump which tempted Ali Orr to defend, only to hesitate at the last instant, resulting in an inside-edge onto the stumps for 1. The big man's next over brought another left-hand casualty, with Tom Alsop struck on the back pad and dismissed LBW for a duck; four overs later it was Tom Clark's turn to depart, also leg-before to Leach for 8. Dillon Pennington then came into the attack and struck with his first ball, a trademark delivery with a little extra bounce off a length that caused Oli Carter to fence at the ball and edge behind for 1. Ben Gibbon capped a marvellous first hour for the Pears when he bowled the tenacious Tom Haines for a hard-fought 2, and the hosts were reduced to a staggering 23-5. However, it was also as good as the morning got for Worcestershire as Fynn Hudson-Prentice led a counter-attacking recovery for the hosts, surviving a chance on 37 when a sharp edge off an Ed Barnard delivery flew to the shoulder of second slip and was put down. 90-5 at lunch was a score that any Pears fan would have taken before play began, but one that seemed a touch disappointing after the phenomenal start.

Afternoon: Hudson-Prentice completed his half-century, but was unable to push on as he nicked Pennington behind for 51, and new man Faheem Ashraf then gave Leach his 400th first-class wicket as he edged to second slip for 2. At 106-7 there was rich cause for optimism, but the tail wagged handsomely for Sussex with James Cole and Jack Carson each contributing a half-century to the cause. The former was architect of his own demise when he pulled Gibbon straight to deep backward square for 54, and the same bowler then coaxed Henry Crocombe into holing out for 16 with a wild lash of the bat. The innings was wrapped up on the stroke of tea when Carson attempted to hustle a second run and was run out for 58 by a direct hit from Jake Libby, drawing the curtain on another five-wicket session with Sussex 220 all out; again, an afternoon that belonged to the visitors, marred only by the tantalising question of whether we could have been more ruthless.

Evening: As warm afternoon sunlight gave way to floodlit autumnal gloom, we were treated to an exemplary opening partnership from Libby and Ed Pollock, the latter reining his instincts in admirably as Sussex set a leg-side trap for him with two men in the deep, which he refused to be drawn into. Instead, the good balls were respected and the bad balls punished with some proper attacking shots, and Worcestershire reached stumps on 87-0 with the new ball seen off comfortably.

Unequivocally a day that belonged to the Pears, and a real platform to build on tomorrow.

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Day Two

Morning: A grey September Tuesday by the seaside, but despite a delayed start and a floodlit ground, the Pears openers continued to make hay. Jake Libby was the first to a half-century with a cover-drive to the boundary, the still-disciplined Ed Pollock followed suit soon after with a clip off the legs. Thereafter he began to show classic signs of wanting to dish out a Pollocking, walloping Faheem Ashraf for eighteen in a single over - including the trademark leg-side lift for six - but there were also cultured shots on show from the hitter, including an exquisitely-timed straight drive to the boundary. Another wicketless session that belonged wholly to Worcestershire, bar half an hour that went to the weather, and 187-0 was a tremendous platform.

Afternoon: With Pollock poised on 98, the temptation to go for broke just proved a bit too much; the opener was keen to pick up the two he needed off spinner Jack Carson, but an over-eager back-foot waft of the bat looped up a simple catch to the keeper to send him back to the pavilion. No such tragic heroics for Libby, who was fortunate with one inside-edge that shaved the stumps en route to the boundary, but otherwise bided his time and punished the bad balls, two of which he drove to the cover boundary to hasten through the nervous nineties and into three figures for the first time in a good while. At the other end there was a stroke of misfortune for Azhar Ali, who looked assured with some early boundaries but fell to a leg-side flick that ricocheted off the keeper to be caught at slip for 16. With Libby continuing to score freely, Jack Haynes was content to play himself in until rain brought an early tea with the Pears 268-2, already leading by 48.

Evening: Rain, rain and more rain. When the clouds finally gave it a rest and allowed some further play, there was only enough time to see off the old ball and add a couple of dozen before the arrival of the new nut and the prospect of some pace bowling prompted the umpires to call bad light and end the day with Worcestershire 289-2, leading by 69. Needless to say, for the second time in a fortnight the autumn climate is Worcestershire's biggest opponent, and day three will require some canny game management from the Pears. Without wanting to trigger a total collapse, we have to be able to put our foot on the pedal a bit, get a 200+ lead on the board by early afternoon and then get stuck into Sussex again on a pitch which may not offer the kind of help it did on the first morning.