[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: Saturday heralded arguably the first weekend of summer, with temperatures high and heavenly, but at first the going seemed no easier for Worcestershire, who added only ten runs before Jack Haynes was somewhat harshly adjudged LBW to Josh Davey for 22. But new man Adam Hose, recognising that the scoreboard needed shifting, wasted no time in lifting a wickedly swinging straight ball off Chris Wright down the ground for four before pulling Davey for six en route to a 66-ball half-century. Despite one bit of luck for Gareth Roderick, who edged over the slips to the boundary, no further wickets fell in the session, and the Pears went to lunch 128-3; almost half the runs knocked off, yet the ball still misbehaving enough to hint that Leicestershire remained overall favourites.

Afternoon: Sure enough, a bright start to the afternoon brought nearly 40 runs off a dozen overs as Hose found the boundary with pleasing regularity, but there had to be a ball with his name on it, and it came on 84 from Wiaan Mulder, taking the edge to be caught behind. Shortly after, with the target reduced to two figures, Rodders shaped to cut a short wide ball only to be startled by extra bounce, edging a dolly to first slip that went into the fielder's hands and straight back out; his half-century came up two balls later. But the runs were drying up as the Foxes turned the screw, and it came as no surprise when, shortly before four o'clock, Rodders ended his five-hour watch on 59 by edging Mulder to second slip. Yet the incoming Matthew Waite made a clear statement of intent when he greeted his second delivery with a languid straight drive for four, and with the score 201-5 at tea, the stage was set for a stellar last couple of hours.

Evening: 70 runs left to make, the last two recognised batsmen in the middle, the second new ball available, and a long tail watching on from the pavilion, padded knees all a-jitter. Whatever the bigwigs do with the County Championship in years to come - whatever new formats they cook up, and whatever bells and whistles they hang on them - they can find no adequate substitute for a scene like that under a westering May sun. Waite continued in fine form against the new nut, finding the boundary with a delicate caress to third man and clipping off the pads through square leg, but with the target down to 43 he was rapped on the front pad by Mulder and dismissed LBW for 22. The South African was suddenly firing on all cylinders, and new man Joe Leach never looked settled; he supplied just 4 before he too departed plumb LBW with 31 still required. All credit, then, to Adam Finch for resembling some grizzled old Test opener as he got the bat firmly behind every straight delivery from Mulder and Wright, and left those outside off - even the ones that nipped back to graze the stumps - with scarcely a backward glance or a bout of anxious gardening. Off the mark with a boundary from his third ball, reaching out to swipe a wide ball past point, the tail-ender was fully trusted by skipper Brett D'Oliveira (who'd calmly shepherded the innings through the last three hours) to tire out the two frontline bowlers, with Leicestershire giving up on making changes in the circumstances. And though the stand lasted an unbearably tense three-quarters of an hour, when the end came it was swift. Finchy, flashing hard outside off, edged one over the slips for four to bring the target down to 15; a couple of doubles later, he squirted one from Mulder through long leg for another, and it was down to 7. A dispirited Chris Wright took the next over, and Dolly picked up another two before levelling the scores with a lovely late cut, then finished things off by cutting the third ball to the point boundary. From 83 all out to victors in the space of forty-eight hours; quite simply, one of the finest comebacks I've seen a Worcestershire side make.

Worcestershire WIN by three wickets

The Verdict: The disastrous decline that the Pears suffered after the declaration at Durham on the second weekend of the season was very real, and reached its awful nadir on Thursday evening. Yet somehow, in the middle of a match against an opposition unbeaten all season, on a surface where no one had any business getting above 200 runs, whatever rot has been plaguing the side was chiselled out in a remarkably resilient showing. All credit to the anchoring from Rodders, the counter-attacking from Hose, the cool head of Dolly and the unflappability of Finchy at the death; and of course, there were sterling efforts with the ball from Leachy and Matty Waite, who continues to be the best replacement for Ed Barnard we could reasonably have hoped for. I only hope the momentum of this win will stand us in good stead as the Blast now begins.