[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Godawful news for Worcs on the eve of our quarter-final as the county reveal that both Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington will join Nottinghamshire at the end of the season. Once again we're back to square one in building a team, and there'll be no compensation for losing the players or reward for having developed them. Cricket's transfer system is laughably broken.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

As a septem horribilis for the men saw two key players leave and Worcestershire blow the big quarter-final, it was a relief to see Central Sparks back in 50-over action after their own T20 campaign fizzled out in June.  On Sunday 2nd, while England went full Justice For Jonny at Lord's, Sparks were taking on the Thunder at New Road with both Ami Campbell and Abbey Freeborn supplying half-centuries during a crucial recovery; another wobble in the middle overs took the hosts to 166-6, but Worcestershire's Charis Pavely (who shone on debut for the regional side in the Charlotte Edwards a month earlier) made a promising 33 to help set a target of 234.  Thunder made a good start in response, progressing at around four an over with the loss of just four wickets in the first thirty, but a double breakthrough from Katie George - including the huge scalp of Seren Smale for 94 -  tore the heart out of the chase, and the England seamer was the one to wrap things up with the visitors 30 runs short.  Guildford then beckoned on Friday, and another shaky start with the bat - 121-6 the troubling score after thirty - was salvaged by a first senior half-century for Pavely and a fifty from the returning Issy Wong in a hugely entertaining partnership, setting a target of 247.  Wong and Georgia Davis then made early inroads with the ball, and at 95-5 after twenty-two it looked a simple task.  But a battling 48 from Alice Davidson-Richards, followed by a truly admirable lower-order 77 from Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones, took the match deep into a tense teatime; barely a couple of dozen runs were required from as many balls when Erin Burns had Blinkhorn-Jones caught, before George took the final wicket.  Back-to-back wins, and Sparks second in the table with Western Storm to face at Moseley on Tuesday.

The return of the West Midlands Regional Cup, organised by Sparks, offered Worcestershire another opportunity to get some cricket in after the rain demolished their scheduled T20 campaign in April and May.  In Sunday's tournament opener versus Wales, a century opening partnership from Clare Boycott and Gabby Basketter, each making precisely fifty before departing, proved crucial to an innings that soon subsided to 166 all out.  A tight chase was then dominated by four wickets from Phoebe Brett and three in a single over from Basketter - doing serious damage against her former club - to complete a welcome 15-run victory.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division Two

vs Yorkshire

New Road, Worcester

Day One: The Pears won the toss and put Yorkshire in to bat on a cloudy Monday morning in mid-July, but the summer's second experiment with the Kookaburra ball yielded no more good fortune than the first, with the visitors reaching 154-0 in the course of a wicketless, rain-affected day.

Day Two: A slightly delayed start on Tuesday after more rain, but at last a reward for the Pears bowlers as a full straight ball from Ben Gibbon beat the late forward prod of Adam Lyth to see him off LBW for 79; nevertheless, Yorkshire reached lunch 219-1. The afternoon brought belated inroads, with Matthew Waite getting his third ball to cut back and dismiss James Wharton LBW for 18, then bowling a pearler over the wicket on a perfect line and length to the left-handed Ryan Rickelton, who nicked behind. The same over-the-wicket tactic to fellow southpaw Finley Bean, Worcestershire's chief tormentor over the last day and a half, brought another LBW decision on 135 for Adam Finch, and tea was taken on 309-4. But Finch was back at it after the interval, dismissing Jonny Tattersall LBW for 16 before Josh Baker coaxed a bit of turn from the pitch to have George Hill caught behind for 55. Another for Finch followed, Matthew Fisher gloving behind down the leg-side, but the old story of the wagging tail did for Worcs once again, and Yorkshire were 399-7 before Gibbon had Ben Coad caught off a steepler. A couple of sterling deliveries - one clattering the off-stump of Mark Steketee, the other tempting a skyer from Matthew Revis - completed the innings and a five-fer for Finch as Yorkshire were 407 all out, but there was still time for both openers to depart early and cheaply before Worcestershire reached stumps on 46-2.

Day Three: More woes on another grey day at New Road as Worcestershire slumped; there was a desperately unlucky LBW decision against Jack Haynes, but 119-6 was the damage at lunch. And the wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, with no sustained partnership developing until the thirty-six-over last stand between Ben Gibbon and Adam Finch carried the Pears to tea on 215-9, then to within 15 runs of the follow-on target, at which point Finchy agonisingly edged Mark Steketee behind for 24. But as Yorkshire enforced the follow-on, this otherwise forgettable encounter gained its most memorable moment when skipper Jake Libby made the delightful decision to send the last pair straight back out as openers and nightwatchmen for the remaining nine overs, which they saw out capably and watchfully.

Day Four: Trailing by 143, survival was the only goal for Worcestershire under heavy Midland skies. A double-blow cost us Adam Finch run out in the morning, shortly followed by fellow nightwatchman Ben Gibbon caught at first slip, both for 15, but rain then arrived to wipe out the middle of the day's play. From there, with passing showers stealing extra overs here and there, Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick had only to dig in, and dig they did. Libby completed a 75-ball half-century en route to his 61*, and the Pears were one run away from parity at five o'clock when Yorkshire finally decided enough was enough.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: Is anyone sorry to see the back of the Kookaburra? Joe Leach's post-match interview was telling, with the big man accepting the need for English bowlers (and the counties who employ them) to develop a few more skills than just "hit the seam and watch the wickets tumble," but lamenting the attritional cricket that the soft and straight Aussie ball engenders in English conditions as a result. The County Championship is more than just a nursery for the England Test side, and after last summer's bad batch of Dukes balls resulted in draws galore, coupled with some mediocre weather at times these last few months, the last thing county cricket needs is more nailed-on stalemates. But despite the air of inevitability about the outcome, there were some great one-on-one duels and cut-and-thrust cricket during this encounter, and the sight of Gibbo and Finchy marching back out of the pavilion as openers after their last-wicket heroics is one for the scrapbook.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division Two

vs Leicestershire

Oakham School, Rutland

Day One

Morning: Leicestershire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on a Wednesday in mid-July that firmly followed the month's trend of alternating rain and shine. England's smallest county nevertheless seemed happy to welcome back first-class cricket for the first time since 2007, and as this was Worcestershire's maiden visit to Doncaster Close (with the wind well and truly in our sails following the signing of Rob Jones from Lancashire this week), we were eager to make it a memorable one. With a fresh breeze rippling the marquees around the boundary, Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick weathered a tough new ball spell which saw Chris Wright and Matt Salisbury pounding a good length tenaciously over after over, pinching ones and twos from nudges either side of the wicket. A slow outfield put the brakes on even the better attacking strokes, and not until the faded white clock above the school door read 11.40 did Libby finally cut change bowler Wiaan Mulder's third delivery through point for the first boundary, before following it up in Mulder's next over with a flashing square drive to the forked oak tree at cover-point; however, despite these early successes the vice-captain was the morning's sole casualty, edging Tom Scriven behind on the stroke of noon. Five minutes later, a woolly sky and a curtain of drizzle forced the players off for a short break, but upon the resumption Azhar Ali announced himself to the festival by pulling Salisbury for six over backward square (where a row of well-wrapped spectators on folding picnic chairs a foot or two beyond the rope were forced to take sudden evasive action), and Worcs reached lunch on a hard-fought but relatively untroubled 74-1.

Afternoon: But on a day of changeable conditions and low scores all over the country, the Oakham pitch showed its true colours as the ball began to deviate off a length. The first victim was Roderick edging the second ball of the session behind from Wiaan Mulder, before Jack Haynes went identically for a golden duck to the next delivery. A streaky boundary through third man from Adam Hose may have fatally helped his confidence as he was almost immediately dismissed LBW for 5 attempting a straight drive off Wright, and Mulder's roll continued with Brett D'Oliveira caught at second slip for 4. The South African should have had two in the over when Matthew Waite was dropped low at second slip off his second ball, and that reprieve allowed the Yorkshireman to cash in at Salisbury's expense ten minutes later, punching a knee-high full-toss through midwicket to the beer-tent for one four, edging a square drive to backward point for a second, then confidently pulling a long-hop for a third, before Salisbury at last had him caught at second slip for 15. But there was no more than a cameo for Joe Leach, caught at second slip off Scriven for 5, or Josh Baker caught down the leg-side off Salisbury for 8, and though Azhar Ali had battled tooth and claw over three hours since his opening maximum for every single run off the bat, he too perished with an edge to first slip from Salisbury for 34. Marching to the crease as something of a pariah, Dillon Pennington was fortunate not to go for a duck when he clipped the ball straight to the hands of mid-wicket who promptly shelled a straightforward grab, but to his credit, he and Adam Finch proceeded to punish Leicestershire during the extended half an hour beyond four o'clock, plundering precious boundaries in a stand of 33 until Pennington was finally bowled by Chris Wright to close the innings on 178.

Evening: The teatime meltdown on social media always felt premature given the way the pitch was playing, and sure enough, the Pears hit the right areas and asked all the right questions of the Foxes in the final session. The reply was four overs old when Pennington swerved the ball away from Rishi Patel to have the opener caught behind for 3, and despite a frustrating spell which saw a couple of half-chances go down, Finchy jagged one back a country mile to take out Lewis Hill's leg stump for 12. From the other end Matthew Waite was zeroing in on the top of off, and in quick succession bowled Louis Kimber for 15 and had Colin Ackermann caught for 2 with a superb diving catch at third slip, before Finchy clattered the middle stump of Peter Handscomb for 5, leaving the hosts 50-5. Wiaan Mulder had a short but successful counter-attack until he was caught in two minds on the crease and comprehensively bowled by Leach for 21, and Pennington finished off the day with Scriven caught behind down the leg-side for a duck, then Wright - a thorn in Worcestershire's side more than once with the bat - caught at first slip for 3. 88-8 at close, Leicestershire still trailing by 90 after an eighteen-wicket first day, it seems highly unlikely that even the worst July weather could produce another draw in this one. Rehan Ahmed remains at the crease playing the same role that Azhar Ali did for Worcs, and his wicket will be crucial in the morning, as he has nothing to lose by countering. In such a close match, another tail-wag could prove fatal; a 50-run lead is the bare minimum we should be looking for when the time comes to bat again.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: Thursday was more of the same weather-wise, but the storm brewing online was over the news that Adam Finch had been replaced in the Worcestershire XI with the outgoing Josh Tongue, quite possibly at the ECB's insistence. Regardless, Matthew Waite kicked things off by sneaking one under the bat of Callum Parkinson to dismiss him LBW for 3, and while the predicted counter-attack from Rehan Ahmed whittled away a score of runs, an attempted leg-glance off Dillon Pennington resulted in a spooned-up leading edge taken comfortably behind the slip cordon for 44. 110 all out, a first-innings lead of 68 was Worcestershire's deserved reward, and knowing attack would be the best form of defence, the Pears openers scored briskly until Gareth Roderick edged Chris Wright to third slip for 13. The same bowler skittled Azhar Ali for 6, but playing on a different pitch to everyone else in Oakham, Jake Libby completed a 51-ball half-century - the first and possibly only of the match - before the fall of Jack Haynes, caught behind for 4 off Matt Salisbury, ushered in lunch on 81-3 with a lead of 149.

Afternoon: The best news the second session could offer was that there was no sign of improvement in the pitch, as the Pears once again subsided. Adam Hose was first to go, caught and bowled by Wright for 12, followed by Libby edging Wiaan Mulder behind for 67 and Waite having his stumps rearranged by Wright for 2. Joe Leach was then guilty of the one truly careless wicket as he ran himself out for 2, and though Josh Baker was happy to wheel out some of his favourite shots, on 11 he struck one too well and sent it to the grateful hands of deep cover. Brett D'Oliveira had looked like the man to shepherd the tail, and was in danger of being stranded with the procession of partners coming and going, but then he too edged Mulder to first slip somewhat tamely, leaving New Road's two personae non gratae to get their practice in for life at Nottinghamshire with a last stand of 25, setting a target of 238 for Leics to win; the same number that Worcestershire successfully chased on a similar pitch at Merchant Taylors this time last year. But the chances of history repeating itself - or at least echoing in an unwelcome fashion - were dealt a blow when the fifth ball of the chase from Leachy swung a little away from Louis Kimber's drive, sending a nick flying low through to the keeper for a duck, and Rishi Patel's tentative forward defensive to Pennington ended up in the hands of second slip for 5 before tea was taken on 29-2.

Evening: While the plethora of wickets in many outground games can be so much ammunition for county critics bemoaning the state of English quick bowling, the rhythm of a match like this - the storms and lulls, the pressure-building maidens and relief-bringing boundary balls, and those curious periods when both sides seem to settle into a period of wary stalemate - are what riveting cricket is made of. The potentially dangerous Colin Ackermann was removed for 15 shortly after the interval off the bowling of Waite and a slip catch not without controversy, popping out of the fielder's hands and along the inside of his forearms, with maybe a touch of grass on the way, before being claimed; but there was no doubting the two scalps in an over for Josh Tongue, who cartwheeled the off stump of Peter Handscomb for 3 before having Mulder caught by the little green man behind the stumps for a duck. At 53-5 the Foxes were on the ropes, but then came the cut and thrust of a determined rebuild by Lewis Hill and Rehan Ahmed, who soldiered on for 39 hard-fought runs until Pennington had Hill strangled down the leg-side for 35; once again, one brought two in the over, and Tom Scriven edged Pennington behind for a duck three balls later to leave the hosts seven down before they'd reached three figures. Bad light curtailed a nineteen-wicket day with Leicestershire 114-7, still requiring 124 to win, and with Rehan Ahmed going at a run a ball as he was twenty-four hours ago. The way we've seen tails wag and outground pitches miraculously improve in the past is enough to keep any Pears fan wary overnight, and there's no doubt that Wright and Ahmed can do ample damage between them in the morning, so tomorrow's bowling and fielding efforts need to be 100% from the first ball. There's a third win of the season to be had here, but it's not in the bag yet.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: No alarms and no surprises on another grey morning at Doncaster Close, as the third ball of the day saw Josh Tongue tempt Rehan Ahmed into a flashing drive with a fullish ball that nipped away, took the edge and flew through to the keeper for 33. Even the most ardent Pear-green pessimist could hardly have seen the outcome as anything but a foregone conclusion from there, but there was a quarter of an hour's happy hitting for Chris Wright and Callum Parkinson till Tonguey decided to go top and toes, the "top" seeing off Parkinson as he fended a fierce bouncer to leg gully and the "toes" yorking Matt Salisbury for a silver duck two deliveries later to complete the victory in a little over twenty minutes. A five-fer for Tongue - perhaps the last we'll see from him in Worcestershire colours - and a third win of the campaign for the Pears in a wide-open, draw-wracked Division Two.

Worcestershire WIN by one hundred runs

The Verdict: There will, one suspects, be questions raised over whether the Oakham pitch was fit for first-class cricket, as bad light was really the only thing that kept this from being a two-day match. But it would be a tremendous shame for the outground to go another sixteen years without a Championship match, because the festival deserves a chance at hosting county cricket in proper summer weather and attracting a real Rutland crowd. For Worcestershire, having ridden out some very tough encounters so far this campaign, there's a prospect that we might yet burgle second place against the odds in the last four matches. Jake Libby is looking in decent nick again, while promoting Gareth Roderick to opener has neatly solved that long-standing problem while also creating space in the middle order. Us supporters all have strong feelings about the situation with Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington, and the removal of Adam Finch from the match to make way for the former sticks in the craw, but both men ultimately showed dedication and contributed to the victory, Tongue particularly justifying his belated selection. It could well be the last five-wicket haul we see from Josh Tongue as a Pear, but on a broad principle of not looking back in anger, hopefully we can remember it as a fitting farewell.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Leading Run-Scorers

1. Jake Libby - 792 (56.57)
2. Gareth Roderick - 533 (33.31)
3. Azhar Ali - 517 (28.72)
4. Adam Hose - 450 (32.14)
5. Matthew Waite - 439 (31.35)


Leading Wicket-Takers

1. Joe Leach - 36 (29.36)
2. Matthew Waite - 25 (28.32)
3. Adam Finch - 21 (26.90)
4. Ben Gibbon - 18 (40.27)
5. Josh Tongue - 16 (30.31)

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The weather has had its say in the summer's last block of Central Sparks fixtures, with two of the fortnight's three 50-over matches washed out and the Hundred now gallumphing in to replace the RHF until September. But in the one game where the rain relented last Saturday at Headingley, Georgia Davis and Katie George were instrumental in restricting Northern Diamonds to 223-4 from 37 of the planned 39 overs, whereupon another deluge resulted in a Duckworth-Lewis adjusted target of 164 from 19 overs for the Midlanders to win. 26 from Eve Jones followed by a superb 56 from the on-fire George broke the back of a close chase, and with two runs required off the last three deliveries, it was a deserved reward for Charis Pavely to continue her breakthrough summer by coming in and striking the winner. The match also proved a farewell to overseas Erin Burns, who leaves with 21 wickets and 279 runs from her 13 appearances.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division Two

vs Gloucestershire

The College Ground, Cheltenham

Day One

Morning: Gloucestershire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on another grey July Wednesday. The news of Jack Haynes's impending departure to cricket's arch-parasites Nottinghamshire set the tone for an early collapse, with three top-order ducks for Jake Libby edging Matt Taylor to second slip, Azhar Ali LBW to the same bowler and Kashif Ali caught at second off Tom Price. But at 18-3 the fourth-wicket partnership counter-attacked, with Gareth Roderick showing once again why he's worth every penny of his new two-year contract, until a snorter from Paul van Meekeren bowled him off an inside-edge for 53 in the same over he brought up his fifty. Partner Adam Hose then followed him back to the pavilion, bowled for 32 by Zaman Akhtar, but the Pears avoided further loss until lunch was taken on 119-5.

Afternoon: With the skipper digging in to anchor the innings, Matthew Waite was free to take the game to Gloucestershire on the resumption, and the Yorkshireman did so with six boundaries in ten balls; the first a straight drive off Matt Taylor skimming pebble-like over the turf to long-off, the second a shorter ball clipped through the leg side two deliveries later when the left-armer shifted his approach around the wicket, a third and fourth cover-driven and square-driven back-to-back off Van Meekeren in the next over, then another square drive zipping through cover-point for the fifth and a crunching pull to complete the set. 40 balls was all it took to bring up his half-century, and he duly perished by the sword he lives by, nicking Akhtar to second slip for 64 on the drive. Akhtar then accounted for Joe Leach, LBW for a duck, but with no further casualties and Dolly bringing up a fighting fifty supported by a redoubtable innings from Josh Baker, Worcestershire could justifiably claim the session, if not the day's play after losing the toss, by reaching tea on 265-7.

Evening: No play possible due to rain.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: A brighter Thursday than I'd dared hope for, and the dream eighth-wicket stand continued for longer than I'd dared hope for; a 108-ball half-century for Josh Baker was the session's first landmark, followed by his new highest first-class score as he motored past the unbeaten 61 notched against Middlesex in September 2021, and a new record partnership for wicket number eight against Gloucestershire, effortlessly surpassing the 124 of Steve Rhodes and Stuart Lampitt at Nevil Road in June 1997. It had reached 141, and showcased an emphatic square-cut six over point from Baker, before the spinner finally mistimed a hook to Van Meekeren and top-edged to the keeper for 75; a similar dismissal from the same bowler did for Brett D'Oliveira on 90, but a brisk run of boundaries - including another couple of big sixes - from Dillon Pennington and Adam Finch lifted the Pears up to 406 and a fourth batting point before the former was caught at mid-on for 26, leaving the latter 33 not out, equalling his own first-class best from Trent Bridge in 2022.

Afternoon: The reply began with an early wicket for Pennington, Chris Dent feathering behind for 8, and it should have been two when Finchy bowled 19-year-old Cornish opener Joe Phillips on 24, only to find he'd overstepped. Phillips duly punished the error with a half-century, but Worcestershire made amends in the final over of the session as Joe Leach followed up a boundary ball with a fullish delivery of extra bounce outside off, drawing the youngster into an uncertain prod with stuttering feet that sent an edge looping straight to first slip for 80. The afternoon thus closed with Gloucs 118-2, still undoubtedly the victors of the session.

Evening: On one of his patented rolls, Leach required only a couple of balls after the resumption to have the leaning Miles Hammond caught at second slip for a duck, then new man James Bracey caught behind on the drive for 1. 120-4 offered a little hope that Worcestershire's miraculous tail-wag may not have been down to a flattening pitch, but the warm evening sunshine and the Price brothers were determined to thwart the bowlers at all costs; no further wickets fell as the Pears toiled away, Gloucestershire closing on 212-4 and 194 in arrears. The second new ball is, thankfully, due early on the morrow, and will be the key to a positive result in this match for Worcs; we have runs on the board, but now need wickets in the bag.