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County Championship, Division Two

vs Lancashire

Day One

Morning: Lancashire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on a day when ball dominated bat from beginning to end. Inside nineteen overs Worcestershire were reduced to 38-7 after a new-ball onslaught from Jimmy Anderson and Graham Onions, and a new record low score for this fixture was on the cards. It took Ben Cox to provide a bit of counter-attacking impetus, joining forces with Wayne Parnell to pick up the pieces in the last half-hour of the morning session and shepherd the Pears to a much-needed break on 66-7.

Afternoon: Though Cox perished for a fighting 32, caught behind off an inside edge, the resistance continued for Worcestershire. Joe Leach wasted no time going on the attack, striking five early boundaries on his way to a run-a-ball 36; but it was Wayne Parnell who anchored the innings for the wagging tail, scoring 63 before being the last man to go on the stroke of tea, leaving the visitors 172 all out. A miraculous fightback in the circumstances, but one which had to be matched by a sterling effort from the bowlers.

Evening: With wickets tumbling up and down the country, Lancashire looked to play it cautious from the start as the Pears went with an attacking field, but if the bowling wasn't quite as explosive as the Anderson-Onions effort in the morning, then no one could fault the visitors for perseverance. And that perseverance was rewarded, first with the wicket of Keaton Jennings caught at fourth slip off Joe Leach for 3, and then Jake Lehmann snaffled at first slip off Wayne Parnell for 8. Again Lancashire dug in, and managed a good half an hour free of alarm until Charlie Morris struck the vital blow of pinning Haseeb Hameed LBW for 29. Still it looked like the Red Rose might see out the day on top, but Parnell - who must have eaten the entire team's Weetabix for breakfast - struck twice after six o'clock, removing Rob Jones for 25 with a juggled catch at second slip and then nightwatchman Jimmy Anderson LBW for 4 in the last over. Lancashire 88-5 at close of play, trailing by 84.

Those fourth and fifth wickets evened up a day which looked for all money like Worcestershire had lost in the first hour, but with Livingstone at the crease and batting still to come, it'll only take one decent partnership for Lancashire to grab a substantial lead in a low-scoring game. Early inroads vital in the morning.

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Day Two

Morning: One decent partnership was all Lancashire needed, and one decent partnership was what they got as the Pears toiled with the old ball for an hour and a half on a sunny morning at Old Trafford. Livingstone and Vilas lifted the home side to parity with very few scares, and into a slender lead before Wayne Parnell finally made the breakthrough, bowling Dane Vilas for 63. That opening sparked a collapse, as Charlie Morris had Steven Croft caught at second slip for a duck and Tom Bailey caught at point for 2 when the ball looped up off an edge onto pad. Parnell completed his first Championship five-fer for Worcestershire by bowling Livingstone for 69, and with the extra half-hour taken, Morris wrapped it up to leave Lancashire 201 all out with a first-innings lead of 29.

Afternoon: The worst possible start after the late lunch with Daryl Mitchell caught at gully off an edge for 6. From there, Tom Fell and George Rhodes did the right thing in trying to dig in and build a partnership, ticking along at just one run an over for the hour that followed. However, the resistance ended when Rhodes was bowled for 26, and neither Ferguson or Wessels were able to score before they too trudged back to the pavilion. Three wickets for just eight runs left Worcs 58-4, and the visitors were relieved to make it to tea with no further loss on 76-4.

Evening: The attempt to grind out an attritional score continued through the evening, but Lancashire's tight, accurate fast bowling left precious little for the batsmen to attack, and when Fell departed LBW for 40 to a full delivery from Richard Gleeson it ended the hopes of a strong lead. Ross Whiteley was bowled for 5 by Jimmy Anderson soon after, and Ben Cox was dismissed LBW for 19 before another decent partnership began between Ed Barnard and Parnell to carry the lead into three figures. Sadly, just when it looked like the pair might see out the day, the former went for 18 by chopping on and the latter edged behind for 25 in the last over, leaving the Pears 149-9 at close with a lead of just 120. A minor miracle in the morning might lift it up above 150 to give the bowlers something to defend, but otherwise this one looks like a goner.

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Day Three

Morning: Worcestershire only managed to add five more runs to the overnight total before Joe Leach miscued a lofted shot over the infield and was caught at mid-off, setting Lancashire a very flimsy 126 to win. If the total was to be defended then early breakthroughs followed by wickets at regular intervals were required, and to be fair, the Pears did accomplish the first part. Charlie Morris was the first to strike, tempting Hameed into a drive that was edged and flew like a bullet to first slip, leaving Lancs 8-1. A period of consolidation followed, but with his very first ball of the innings Ed Barnard - struggling a bit for form by his high standards - removed Jake Lehmann LBW, and two wickets in two balls from Leach dismissed Jennings and Livingstone, reducing the Red Rose to 32-4 and giving Worcs yet another lifeline. But Jones and Vilas were scalps that needed to be claimed quickly if victory was still to be on the cards, and when their watchful partnership survived unscathed to lunch on 59-4, the writing was already on the wall.

Afternoon: Sure enough, no further wickets enabled Lancashire to cruise home by mid-afternoon.

Worcestershire LOSE by six wickets

The Verdict: A hard-fought match in which Worcestershire were second-best with both bat and ball, but somehow managed to drag themselves back into contention several times before finally succumbing. Good fighting spirit, but a lot more than that will be needed to bounce back next week against Middlesex.

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A rare pleasure for Worcestershire this week, as the Pears at last renew their acquaintance with the one major county they haven't played in any format since 2015 and welcome Middlesex to New Road.

After being second best at Old Trafford, albeit narrowly, and taking only three points from the game, it's vital for Worcs to get back to winning ways against promotion rivals. Dawid Malan is very much the prize scalp with his 254 runs for the season, while Nick Gubbins follows on 194, Stevie Eskinazi on 157, Sam Robson on 155 and Max Holden on 151. With the ball it's far from the expected return, as Steven Finn and Toby Roland-Jones have been both ineffective and expensive, and it's been Tim Murtagh leading the way with 12 wickets, James Harris with 6 and Ollie Rayner with 5.

Worcestershire's attack has been more or less fine, but we desperately need some stability and resistance in the top-order with the bat. Josh Tongue is set to return, and after his hamstring injury last week I'd expect Wayne Parnell to make way.

A few showers forecast in the coming days, but a full game should be possible.

Probable Worcestershire XI: Mitchell, Fell, Ferguson, Dell, Wessels, Cox, Whiteley, Barnard, Leach, Tongue, Morris

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County Championship, Division Two

vs Middlesex

Day One

Morning: The Pears won the toss and put Middlesex in to bat on an overcast day with a delayed start. Batting first had obviously been the plan for the visitors, but it seemed a very questionable one as the ball zipped around early doors. Charlie Morris struck in his first over to dismiss Max Holden caught behind for a duck, leaving Middlesex 2-1, and though they battled on to consolidate their position in the hour that followed, the southerners rode their luck time and again. A delivery from Josh Tongue that kept low was enough to see off Sam Robson LBW for 15, and Worcestershire picked up the third wicket their efforts deserved when Ross Whiteley bowled Nick Gubbins for 27. However, with Dawid Malan and Stevie Eskinazi at the crease the visitors were still threatening, and in the circumstances were probably satisfied with the morning's outcome as they reached lunch on 97-3.

Afternoon: A steady start after the interval with a few boundaries, and things had just started to look ominous for the Pears when Whiteley made the breakthrough, trapping Eskinazi LBW for 27. Morris claimed the prize wicket of Malan leg-before for 45 shortly after, and things began to unravel for Middlesex. Worcestershire continued to attack, taking the gamble of pitching the ball up, and James Harris was the next to be adjudged LBW for 12 off Ed Barnard. Toby Roland-Jones added 12 of his own before edging to first slip when he attempted to cut Joe Leach, and Josh Tongue removed Tom Helm for 1, completing a successful session for Worcs and leaving Middlesex 191-8 at tea.

Evening: The tail threatened to wag for Middlesex, and it took some good bowling from Tongue to see off Nathan Sowter LBW for 20, before John Simpson holed out on the offside off Charlie Morris as the visitors were all out for 221. However, there remained a solid two hours of play in the day, and when Daryl Mitchell and George Rhodes both edged behind off Tom Helm to leave the Pears 9-2 it looked very grim. It required some watchful play and brisk counter-attacking cricket from Callum Ferguson to steady the ship before he fell LBW for 37 just before close, but Worcestershire's real hero with the bat was Tom Fell, playing yet another patient knock with 15 off 86 balls to reach the end of the day unbeaten. The opener's fierce resistance has gone unrewarded in previous games, and as he remains at the crease with nightwatchman Tongue and the Pears are 64-3 overnight, I only hope he can push on and make the big score his tenacity deserves in this innings.

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Day Two

Morning: With depressing inevitability, Tom Fell couldn't push on for a big score as both he and Josh Tongue were dismissed in the half an hour of play possible before the rain came.

Afternoon: Having been interrupted by weather just as two batsmen were settling in, the long afternoon session became a steady procession of wickets as one batsman after another came and went. Only Joe Leach and Charlie Morris provided any real resistance as the Pears collapsed to 156 all out.

Evening: And just as you thought the pitch might give us a bit of help, the marathon evening session saw only two Middlesex wickets fall as the visitors cruised to 195-2 at close of play, leading by 260 on a day that was not only Worcestershire's worst of the season so far, but their worst in any format for well over a year.

The game's now all but gone, and the only slender hope is for further rain to help us play out a draw.

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Day Three

Morning: No play possible due to rain.

Afternoon: No play possible due to rain.

Evening: At 4.45pm the weather finally cleared up enough to allow the teams out, and despite some early attacking intent from Middlesex, Charlie Morris made the crucial breakthrough with Gubbins caught at backward point for 91. Josh Tongue struck the following over when Stevie Eskinazi edged behind for 1, and Morris followed up as James Harris departed the same way. It was Ed Barnard who claimed the prize wicket of Dawid Malan, caught at cover, but the damage had already been done, and at close of play the visitors were 287-6 declared, with a lead of 352.

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County Championship, Division Two

vs Lancashire

Day One

Morning: Lancashire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat in overcast conditions, on a pitch used for yesterday's women's ODI. It proved near enough a repeat of the debacle at Old Trafford last month, with wickets falling in a steady procession to a swinging, seaming ball. Of the entire top order, only Josh Dell made it into double figures, with 18 from as many overs before his dismissal. Lunch came with the Pears 64-6, two runs worse off and one wicket better off than at the same time in the Old Trafford match.

Afternoon: Any minor hope that the tail might wag as it did in Manchester was put to bed after the interval, with the wickets continuing to tumble until the fall of Ed Barnard saw Worcs all out for 98. Typically, too late for it to save the innings, a rainstorm prevented further play.

Evening: No play possible due to rain.

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Day Three

Morning: No play possible due to rain.

Afternoon: After five consecutive sessions washed out, with over 1,100 gallons of rainwater pumped off the outfield, there was finally a couple of hours play after two o'clock, and Joe Leach struck early to dismiss Keaton Jennings. That breakthrough was followed up by Wayne Parnell, who in his very first over took two wickets in two balls to remove both Alex Davies and Rob Jones and leave Lancs 32-3. However, the partnership that followed carried the visitors safely through to tea.

Evening: Lancashire reached 110-3 before bad light set in, and when the rain began again, it didn't let up.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: The best possible outcome from Worcestershire's point of view, after yet another nightmare with the bat and inconsistent showing with the ball. Too many players simultaneously out of nick, and it doesn't bode well for next week's trip to Sussex.

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After a few fortunate and mostly dry seasons, the weather has once again conspired to turn New Road into an inland sea, and so the county are relocating to the out-ground at Chester Road, Kidderminster for the first time in any format since a Sunday League game against the Netherlands in 2012, and the first time in the County Championship since 2008. Opponents Sussex last visited Kiddy way back in 1988, and were seen off inside three days. Don't fancy the chances of it happening again, especially with the forecast, but Worcestershire need a performance from somewhere.