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Worcestershire County Cricket Club

2018 Season Review

A long, hot summer has given way to the warmest of autumns, and with its passing, a memorable cricket season has come to a bittersweet conclusion for Worcestershire.  The fortunes of 2017 - a strong One-Day showing, a trophy in the County Championship and a disaster in the T20 Blast - were bizarrely mirrored in 2018, when another strong One-Day showing was this time accompanied by a shocker of a Championship season, itself gloriously mitigated by Worcestershire's first major trophy since 1994 as the Pears were crowned unlikely T20 champions.

There's a very real sense that the Steve Rhodes era is over, underlined by the fact that Worcs took the plunge in September and signed their first Kolpak in a decade in Wayne Parnell.  However, the emphasis on young homegrown talent remains, and though Joe Clarke has followed Tom Kohler-Cadmore's path out through the revolving door, the county will simply view his absence as an opportunity for the likes of Ollie Westbury or even young Jack Haynes to stake a claim in the first XI.  Expectations in 2019 will be high, but despite setbacks, the Pears are continuing to build a team that's going places.

Batsmen

Daryl Mitchell, much like James Hildreth, quite simply remains one of the most consistent English batsmen never to get a sniff of an England cap.  His 2018 haul of 957 runs scored at an average of 36.81, with a high score of 178, was sufficient to make him the top run-scorer for Worcs in the County Championship, and the fifth-highest in Division One overall.  In the One-Day Cup he lagged a little behind the other top-order batsmen (though the century which guided the Pears to a near-impossible win over Lancashire was a true highlight of the year), while in the T20 Blast, his switch from stroke-playing opener to flexible lower-order finisher (to say nothing of his utility as a crafty medium-pace bowler, taking 10 wickets at a 23.90 average) was one of the key changes that enabled Worcestershire to lift the trophy.  A legendary slip-catcher and a consummate professional, one can only hope he's got plenty more years in the tank.

In contrast, Brett D'Oliveira had a bit of a Division One nightmare with just 276 runs at 14.53, a top score of 65 against Lancashire in August providing his sole half-century of the red-ball season.  Thankfully he remains in good short-form nick, with 265 runs at 37.86 in the One-Day Cup to go with his more-than-handy 10 wickets in the competition.  Dolly remains a good county stalwart, and will hopefully find his element again in Division Two.

After a rocky 2017, it was great to see Tom Fell regain a bit of form with the bat, scoring 652 runs at 27.17 with his top score of 89 against Surrey in September falling just short of what would have been his first century since 2015.  Despite making his career debut in T20 in August, he remains an elusive sight in white-ball cricket, but contributed a vital half-century in the One-Day Cup opener against Derbyshire.

In his first season in Division One and his last at New Road, Joe Clarke gave us a bit of everything.  His 853 Championship runs at an average of 34.12 made him the second-highest Worcs run-scorer for the season, but perhaps concealed the fact that nearly half of those runs were made in just three innings.  Nevertheless, this nagging lack of consistency couldn't disguise the quality of the knock he played at Trent Bridge in the sweltering heat of early July to guide the Pears to a narrow, nail-biting draw under the lights and cement Nottinghamshire's interest in him.  Having converted to an opener in white-ball cricket, he was our leading run-scorer in the T20 Blast and scored an impressive 306 at 34.00 in the One-Day Cup, and the frustration now for the Pears is going to lie in how we plug the gap he leaves.  No sour grapes over his departure, as he at least aided in winning us a trophy before he left, but the way Notts have gone about raiding smaller Midland counties for batsmen this year in lieu of producing their own leaves a very unpleasant taste, and begs a serious conversation in domestic cricket about what can be done to protect, compensate or redress the balance for counties like Worcestershire who produce players like Joe Clarke only to lose them.

It was a short, sweet debut season for Dudley's own Ollie Westbury, making his List A bow with 8 runs against West Indies A in June, providing a useful 24 in his sole T20 appearance against Leicestershire in August, and making his maiden Championship appearance against Surrey in September, scoring a total of 49 runs in four innings at an average of 12.25.  With a winter now to go away and prepare, 2019 could well prove a very important year for the next cab off the Worcs academy rank.

For Ross Whiteley, it was business as usual in 2018.  Unsurprisingly, in a season when Worcs were crowned T20 champions he was our fourth-highest run-scorer in that format with 313 at an average of 26.08, and two half-centuries in the One-Day Cup proved equally useful.  Interestingly, he was also given a fairer crack of the whip at red-ball cricket this summer too, and playing his naturally aggressive game, a haul of 364 runs at 33.09 in the middle-order isn't to be sniffed at.  Sadly, he was denied a first Championship century since 2013 when he departed for 91 against Surrey in September, but innings like that may just give Whiteley a shot at a regular first-class berth next season.

Wicketkeepers & All-rounders

Things haven't been easy for Ben Cox in the Championship, scoring 372 runs in the season at a 17.71 average - only half of what he made in 2017 - but the Wordsley man with the quickest hands in English cricket had such a phenomenal summer in white-ball cricket that he can be forgiven any shortcoming.  His 396 runs in the One-Day Cup at an astonishing average of 79.20 included a magnificent unbeaten 122 in the semi-final against Kent, that arguably deserved to clinch the game.  But not content with being the county's highest run-scorer in List A cricket, Coxy also demolished opponents in the T20 Blast with equal ease and skill, culminating in two Man of the Match performances on Finals Day that essentially clinched the trophy for the Pears.  The winning boundary off Jofra Archer will live long in the memory, and was a deserved moment of triumph, but any fast bowler delivering a white ball to Ben Cox can expect to see it ramped, paddled, reversed or simply smashed down the ground with aplomb, and the Worcs keeper is making a big name for himself in doing so.

Alex Milton made his first-class debut in July, and crowned it with a maiden century that smashed the county's tenth-wicket partnership record and nearly carried the Pears to a draw; a handy contribution, but one which sadly wasn't replicated when he was moved up the order, eventually stumbling to a total of 250 runs at 22.73, with his only white-ball appearance an inglorious List A debut against West Indies A in which he was run out for a duck without facing a ball.

Moeen Ali, after a disastrous winter and a disappointing first season in the IPL, roared right back to his best over the summer of 2018 and thoroughly earned his England return.  Championship appearances were few and far between, but his 219 against Yorkshire at Scarborough was a magnificent innings made all the better for Mo's determination to rein in his natural instincts and play with discipline, grinding out the runs.  With the ball he supplied 18 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 18.56, as well as 11 wickets apiece in the two white-ball competitions, and though the One-Day Cup didn't see him at his best with the bat (save for a game-saving century at Edgbaston in June), 334 runs at 41.75 in the T20 Blast illustrated why Moeen is worth his weight in gold to the Pears.

Ed Barnard was one of my stars of the season in 2017, and he kept improving in every aspect of the game through 2018.  He finished the season as the county's top wicket-taker in the Championship, his tally of 49 surpassing last year's 47 and at a very useful average of 23.22, while posting three half-centuries with the bat.  In the One-Day Cup he was also the top Worcs wicket-taker with 16, and proved a useful finisher at the crease, while 12 wickets and 15 catches in the T20 Blast also demonstrated how he's come along in the shortest format.  With Clarke gone, I'd argue that Barnard is now the jewel in Worcestershire's crown, and it's vital we keep hold of him in the years to come

Bowlers

A season of frustration for captain Joe Leach, who supplied 23 wickets in just five Championship games at an average of 22.09, before succumbing to a stress fracture in June that will keep him out of cricket till next March.

It was a similar story for Josh Tongue, though the twenty-year old was able to return from his own injury in August to contribute 40 wickets at 25.27 in his second Championship campaign.  Playing little part in the county's white-ball success, the youngster really just has to get a bit of fortune with his injuries, and in 2019 he'll hopefully be the beating heart of Worcestershire's red-ball seam attack.

The return of Steve Magoffin was a worthwhile gamble, but after taking just 16 first-class wickets at a pedestrian average of 37.06, he faded away into the second XI in the later part of the season and announced his retirement in August, joining the Pears coaching staff instead.

Dillon Pennington provided one of the more memorable debuts of a Worcs youngster when he was dropped into the team for the winner-takes-all One-Day derby with Warwickshire in June, and promptly found himself in a desperate ninth-wicket stand with 90mph yorkers and bouncers whizzing past his stumps.  Nevertheless, he stepped up to the mark with 22 Championship wickets, 3 in the One-Day Cup and 7 in the T20 Blast, including a devastating spell of 4-9 against Northants at New Road.  Pennington has the pace and the height to bang in a fierce bouncer, and it's just the occasional lapse in line and length that's letting him down at times and being punished by batsmen.  With age comes experience, and if he can bring his average down below 30 next season then he'll be well on his way.

Charlie Morris made his return to the first XI with 9 Championship wickets at a rather poor 41.33, and 11 at a slightly better 34.64 in the One-Day Cup.  Having ostensibly fallen out of contention as the season progressed, it remains to be seen whether Worcs will persist with him in 2019.

After his fairly unassuming emergence in 2017, Pat Brown became the talk of the T20 world in 2018 as he demolished one team after another through July and August.  Having played only one first-class match all season, it seems the Pears are set on developing Brown as a specialist white-ball bowler, and after the heartbreak of bowling the last over in the One-Day Cup semi-final, he roared back with pace variations that foxed countless batsmen in the T20 Blast, yielding 31 wickets at an astounding average of 13.35 and closing out numerous innings with long strings of dot balls.  A one-season wonder, or the next AJ Tye?  There's no doubt that Brown will have to stay wily to keep batsmen from sussing his knuckle-balls, and evolve new change-ups as and when the need arises, but for now, Worcestershire have yet another devastating homegrown cricketer in the twenty-year-old.

Overseas Players

Travis Head was an experiment that didn't really work out, at least in the County Championship.  That may be a harsh assessment, as Head was the pick of the batsmen during the tricky conditions of springtime, contributing 339 runs at 33.90 with two half-centuries, but for a small county like Worcestershire, a specialist overseas batsman really has to weigh in with runs by the ton to justify their signing, and sadly the Australian fell short of expectations.

In contrast, there were no such doubts over fellow Aussie Callum Ferguson, as any cricketer who rocks up at his new ground and smashes a 25-year record on debut can expect to be a popular figure from there on.  That was the case with Fergie, whose omission from Australian international duties permitted the Pears to maintain his services most of the summer: his 377 runs in the One-Day Cup (second only to Ben Cox, with a higher average of 94.25, and including the new county high-score of 192), and 390 in the T20 Blast persuaded the county to sign him up nice and early as 2019's main overseas player.

Martin Guptill likewise showed his class during a short midsummer cameo, supplying 170 Championship runs including a century, and 253 T20 runs including a considerably quicker century.  No complaints, did what it said on the tin, and it would be a pleasure to see him return next July.

Wayne Parnell was the last piece of the jigsaw for a trophy-winning team, providing an excellent 14 wickets at 18.36 in the T20 Blast and a slightly rustier 18 wickets at 32.33 in the Championship.  This was deemed sufficient to offer Parnell a Kolpak contract which he accepted, bolstering Worcestershire's seam attack in all formats for 2019.


Highlights of the year?  Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in a last-ball thriller against Lancashire in the One-Day Cup.  Digging in for a rollercoaster of a win at Edgbaston, courtesy of Keith Barker slipping in the outfield.  Seeing old records tumble in both short and long formats.  Doing a clean sweep over the Bears, at long last.  Taking Kent the full distance in one of the most thrilling List A games you're ever likely to see.  Smashing all comers in the long, hot evenings of the T20 Blast.  But above all, the moment when Ben Cox hooked the ball to the legside boundary in Birmingham to give Worcestershire a moment of glory twenty-four years in the making.

And so until 2019, it's a fond farewell to New Road.