[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

vs Leicestershire

One-Day Cup, Northern Group

Grace Road, Leicester

Two relatively unfancied teams who nevertheless snatched impressive wins in their respective opening games come head to head at Grace Road today.  It's all about who can turn that solid start into an very impressive one, and after Albion sank to defeat against Leicester City yesterday, fingers crossed the Pears can restore a bit of pride to the West Midlands.

Worcs innings: Leicestershire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat.  On a bright and windy morning, Worcestershire made an eager start with a run-rate well above six an over from the very off.  Moeen Ali was the key man, forming handy partnerships with Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Fell and Joe Clarke before edging a ball behind on 90.  Brett D'Oliveira and Ben Cox kept the scoreboard ticking over with a good middle-order partnership, but when they lost their wickets in quick succession, and Joe Leach and Ross Whiteley also fell soon after with the Pears just short of 300, it seemed that things might fizzle out.  But John Hastings and Ed Barnard were in a slogging mood, and they carried Worcestershire to 361-8 off the fifty: the club's highest-ever total in the modern One-Day Cup, their fourth-highest of all time in List A cricket and their second-highest of all time in fifty overs (having notched up 365-7 against Scotland ten years ago).  The Foxes clearly love a chase, and their exploits at Old Trafford in the week should be a reminder to the Pears that they have a deep batting line-up easily capable of 300 plus; it's a good pitch with a quick outfield at Grace Road today, but this is a commanding score from Worcestershire, and now they need to make it count.

Leics innings: In an exciting and tense chase Leicestershire got off to a destructive start, scoring well ahead of the run-rate for the first fifteen overs or so, but the Pears pegged their opponents back with crucial wickets at regular intervals. Ben Cox made what might be the stumping of the season with an underarm throw from twenty yards back when Cameron Delport dithered outside his crease, and the key wickets of Pettini, Eckersley and Cosgrove before the halfway mark appeared to put the match firmly in Worcestershire's favour. However, a great knock from Aadil Ali kept Leicestershire's hopes alive until the death, and after some great spin from Dolly and Moeen to stem the flow of boundaries and pile on the scoreboard pressure, the last few wickets tumbled cheaply and in quick succession. This proved harsh on Ali, who deserved a century for his performance even in a losing cause but was instead run out on 88 to bring the match to a close; but for Worcestershire the winning streak just goes on and on, with a 100% record in all formats stretching back to last September.

Worcestershire WIN by forty-two runs

Star Performer: This was very much a team performance, and it could well be argued that the partnership of 45 at the death between Hastings and Barnard proved the real difference between the two sides.  But on a day that the Pears posted their biggest-ever fifty-over score against another county, you have to hand it to Moeen Ali for his contribution of ninety crucial runs as well as a very economical nine overs with the ball. After the next match the all-rounder will be off on England duty for much of the summer, and a question mark still hovers over his future at New Road, but if this is one of his last games for the Pears, then it was one to remember.

Next Match: Worcestershire ride into Northampton on the crest of a wave on Wednesday, and Northants will look to bring the winning streak to an end.