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vs Derbyshire

One-Day Cup, Northern Group

The County Ground, Derby

The last time that Worcestershire made it through to a semi-final in any competition was way back in 2004, en route to a second successive Lord's defeat against Gloucestershire.  It's been a long and barren spell for the county ever since, but today the Pears have the chance to book their place in the last four of the One-Day Cup by finishing top of the group.  The weather is likely to have a say in all of today's games, but thankfully after some dire forecasts, we look set to get a game of cricket at Derby in one form or another.  Their fate's in their own hands.  Come on you Pears.

Derby innings: Pears won the toss and put Derbyshire in to bat on a humid, overcast day.  There was time for the home side to play ten overs, and for Worcestershire to dismiss Slater with a good catch in the slips, before heavy rain set in and remained for two hours.  When play restarted at 5pm we were looking at a reduced-overs game of 36 per side, and the Pears did pretty well containing Derbyshire to 209-8 off their innings with three wickets for Ed Barnard and a decent debut from Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon yielding a wicket and a catch in the deep.  The target for the Pears will be adjusted by Duckworth-Lewis to 218, which on paper doesn't look a huge ask (especially since they chased down 241 off thirty-four with two overs to spare on Friday), but if Derbyshire take quick wickets then it might prove defendable.  Not sure Leicestershire are going to do us any favours at Headingley, so it's all on us.

Worcs innings: An utterly destructive start from Pepsi who greeted his first ball, after watching five swinging, seaming deliveries from the non-striker's end, by smashing a six over long-on without batting an eyelid. It was a statement of intent and a taste of things to come as the young man notched up 63 from just thirty-four balls, including eight fours and three sixes, before feathering one behind to Smit. That crucial foundation allowed the Pears to cruise through the remainder of the innings, with Daryl Mitchell nudging and nurdling his way to 67 before offering up a cheap caught-and-bowled to Viljoen. There were a few silly and unnecessary dismissals among the top and middle orders as the Pears slowed down and Derbyshire put a little pressure on, but the equation remained under a run a ball, and it required only a couple of calm heads in Ed Barnard and Ross Whiteley to cross the line, the latter biffing one down the ground and over the rope in typical fashion to finish things when just six were needed. Yorkshire won at Headingley, but it didn't matter; with six wins and a tie from their eight group games, Worcestershire have gone from underdogs to top dogs. A home semi-final now awaits for the first time in thirteen years, and the road to Lord's is wide open ahead of this confident young side.

Worcestershire WIN by five wickets (D/L)

Worcestershire are CHAMPIONS of the Northern Group

Star Performer: A handy debut from Nathan Lyon, even though he seemed a bit at sea in these conditions (pun intended); also credit to Daryl Mitchell for top-scoring in the Pears innings, and Ed Barnard for a useful three-fer. But you have to wonder how much tougher this chase would have proved if it weren't for Tom Kohler-Cadmore. The young white-ball opener has his share of Jekyll and Hyde performances, but for the most part in this competition Pepsi has been a potent weapon at the crease for Worcestershire, and today he showed precisely why.

Next Match: It's back to the business of the County Championship on Friday, as the Pears look to extend their first-class winning streak with a real change of scenery... against Derbyshire, in Derby.