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County Championship, Division Two

vs Middlesex

Merchant Taylors School, Rickmanworth

Having blown the Glamorgan match from a winning position and triumphed only twice in the T20 campaign, Worcestershire were in desperate need of good news going into this crunch match against Middlesex at the tree-lined outground of Merchant Taylors; a venue at which the hosts had never lost.

Day One: Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat on a baking Monday morning in the middle of a July heatwave. It seemed a straightforward and sound decision in the circumstances, but outground wickets can throw up many a surprise, and the Merchant Taylors pitch certainly offered bounce, carry and a little seam movement for good measure. Inside five overs Joe Leach made the breakthrough, angling a ball in on a good length that straightened, beat Sam Robson's outside edge and sent the off stump cartwheeling. Dillon Pennington contributed two wickets when he bounced out Mark Stoneman for 18, top-edging an attempted pull to midwicket, while Jack Davies feathered behind attempting a leave. Ed Barnard bowled Robbie White for 2 with a full, quick ball that nipped in, and a fifth of the morning followed when Max Holden collided headlong with partner John Simpson while attempting to steal a second run off third man, being run out for 11. Leach then wrapped up a fine morning's work with a sixth wicket, dismissing Simpson LBW for 7 and sending Middlesex in for lunch 76-6. The hosts recovered somewhat in the afternoon despite the early loss of Toby Roland-Jones, caught behind for 10 off Charlie Morris, with Luke Hollman knocking a fine half-century before being bowled by Josh Baker for 62. Another wicket apiece for Leach and Baker wrapped up the Middlesex innings in time for tea, 188 all out, but the final session saw the Pears subside to 49-5 before a Barnard-led recovery carried the visitors to stumps on a precarious 100-5.

Day Two: A cloudy but sultry Tuesday in the Watfordian suburbs, and despite Ed Barnard completing yet another sound half-century with support from Josh Baker and the lower order, Worcestershire were bowled out for 191 and a first-innings lead of just 3. Things looked bleaker in the afternoon with the first fifteen overs of the new ball producing no wickets, and Middlesex motoring until Dillon Pennington claimed two scalps in three balls, bouncing out Stoneman for the second time in as many days and then forcing a leading edge from Jack Davies. Things evened up nicely when Joe Leach produced a one-handed catch at full stretch off his own bowling to dismiss Sam Robson for 35, and Josh Baker then bowled Max Holden for 8 to leave Middlesex 110-4 at tea. The young left-armer claimed a second after the interval, and John Simpson edged to second slip for 26 off Pennington soon after, but from 139-6 the hosts recovered to a daunting 180-6 by close, leading by 177 on a pitch where 200 looked like an impossible target.

Day Three: A scorching Wednesday commenced with Charlie Morris on a roll, bowling Toby Roland-Jones for 10 and having Tom Helm caught at mid-wicket for a duck, with the lead still only 185. But another decent showing from Luke Hollman piled on crucial runs before Josh Baker saw him off for 46, and Tim Murtagh nicking Joe Leach behind finished off the innings to set a victory target of 238 on a pitch showing all sorts of variable bounce and erratic movement off troublesome patches. It was, therefore, a vital twelve-over spell before lunch that Ed Pollock and Jake Libby not only weathered but dominated, scoring at exactly five an over to get the chase off to a positive start of 60-0 at the break. Even when Libby was caught behind for 31, there was simply no stopping Pollock as the young man reached his fifty, swatting boundaries with ease and throwing the Middlesex bowlers off their line and length as they struggled to adapt to a left-hander able to pull and flick leg-side sixes at will. With sterling support from the watchful Taylor Cornall in just his third first-class innings, Pollock brought up his second Championship century in 67 balls, the fastest for Worcestershire since Phil Jaques' match-winning 64-ball ton at the Oval in May 2006, and the back of the chase was all but broken by the time he perished on 113, with Worcs needing just 71 more. Making his return from injury, Jack Haynes contributed a breezy cameo of 18, and his departure brought Brett D'Oliveira to the crease for a spot of Basil-ball. With a series of intrepid ramps, dismissive pulls and the odd glorious drive, the skipper knocked off the remainder in style and wrapped up a vital win with a four through backward point, breaching Fortress Merchant Taylors for the first time.

Worcestershire WIN by seven wickets

The Verdict: A summer of unfeasible, topsy-turvy chases nationwide continues apace, and if the hosts have their doubts about the quality of the outground pitch - with some balls on day three rearing up dangerously off a length - they can't argue about the fact that they were outplayed over three days by an understrength Worcestershire side. The bowling unit formed a plan and stuck well at their task, and though the first-innings batting left a lot to be desired, Ed Pollock's eventual demolition of an international-quality attack was a performance that will be remembered for a long time. It's been a tough first season of Championship cricket for the young opener, and when things go wrong for him they tend to go very badly indeed; but this effort demonstrated what his devil-may-care attitude and unconventional style can achieve on a good day. Taylor Cornall also deserves plaudits for his contrasting innings; unruffled and unhurried, easing his way to a new first-class best of 31, despite arriving at the crease at a point when a second quick wicket could have changed the game completely. More of the same may just resurrect an ailing season.