[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

vs Glamorgan

County Championship, Division Two

New Road, Worcester

Day One: Glamorgan put the Pears in to bat, and oh, has ever a day started so badly and ended so well?  It looked like the home side were picking up exactly where they left off last week when the first three wickets fell within eight overs for just fourteen runs.  However, the impending batting collapse was staved off by the middle-order, with Ben Cox making 93 off ninety-nine balls and Ed Barnard whacking a handy 60; finishing their innings 267 all out after tea, there was a sense of disappointment at a low score coupled with relief that it wasn't worse.  But you judge the pitch after both teams have played on it, and after a shaky and lucky start from Glamorgan, the visitors obliged with a batting collapse of their own.  Nineteen-year-old Josh Tongue was the star man as Worcestershire steamrollered the Welshmen: his remarkable spell of 5-3 in nineteen balls skittled the top and middle order save for opener Rudolph, who remains 49 not out as Glamorgan close on 76-6, trailing by 191 runs with just 4 wickets remaining.  If things go our way in the morning there's every chance the Pears could make Glamorgan follow on, which seemed unthinkable at 4pm today.  What a difference a day makes.

Day Two: If football is a game of two halves, then Championship cricket is undoubtedly a game of four days; and this was an awful one for the Pears from start to finish.  Needing only four wickets to put a stranglehold on Glamorgan, they instead huffed and puffed and proved themselves toothless against a partnership between Cooke and Rudolph that lasted all morning and half of the afternoon.  Even when the breakthrough came with two quick wickets, the Glamorgan tail continued to wag, and by the time Worcestershire had finally bowled the visitors out, a little before 5pm, they'd set a first-innings lead of 114.  There was, of course, time for things to get that little bit worse for the home side, losing Daryl Mitchell for just 18 with an edge to slip.  At close of play Worcestershire are 34-1, trailing by 80 runs, and facing an enormous task on Sunday to swing this game back in their favour.  What a difference a day makes, indeed.

Day Three: When Worcestershire are in a hole, you can always back them to dig deeper.  No less than six wickets fell before the Pears had achieved parity with Glamorgan, and the other four went in quick succession shortly after lunch, leaving the visitors with a laughable total of just 16 to chase down for the win.  Ed Barnard dismissed Selman to make it look a bit more respectable, but for the second weekend running Worcestershire are well beaten, and questions must be asked at New Road. Is it the standard midsummer slump? Has the Kohler-Cadmore affair thrown things into disarray behind the scenes? Whatever the answer, it needs fixing before the season fizzles out.

Worcestershire LOSE by nine wickets

Star Performer: An honourable mention for Ben Cox, who gave us his season-best first-class score of 93 in the first innings, but there's no doubting that the star of the bowling attack was teenage paceman Josh Tongue, who took six wickets in the first Glamorgan innings. He's still got a lot to learn, but is looking a handy young seamer.

Next Match: Worcestershire's first semi-final since 2004 takes place next Saturday, with either Yorkshire or Surrey coming to New Road in the One-Day Cup.