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Worcestershire County Cricket Club

County Champions: 1964, 1965, 1974, 1988, 1989
One-Day Champions: 1991, 1994
T20 Champions: 2018

2019 Season

Is it actually feasible in any way, shape or form to excel at three formats of cricket with just one set of players?

For England fans that question will be answered this summer as the nation hosts both the World Cup and the Ashes back to back.  For Worcestershire supporters, it was answered on a somewhat humbler scale in 2018 as a memorable summer of white-ball cricket culminated in a first-ever triumph in the T20 Blast, while in stark contrast, the red-ball campaign crashed and burned with yet another relegation.  It would be short-sighted to suggest that one inevitably led to the other; the fact is that injuries to both Josh Tongue and Joe Leach left the Pears drastically understrength in the Championship, and the team still gave a decent account of themselves in most matches.  And perhaps that's why the dream of conquering all three formats at once still lives on at New Road.  For the first time in a quarter of a century, a trophy-winning team will be turning out on the brimming banks of the River Severn to start a new campaign, and if the noises emanating from the pavilion are to be believed, they regard a promotion, a visit to Lord's *and* a defence of the T20 title to be within their capability...

Realistically, it'll be tough enough to achieve even one of those three goals.  Certainly, Division Two of the Championship promises to be no picnic in 2019, for despite three promotion places on offer, Worcestershire will be going head-to-head with co-relegates Lancashire, a resurgent Middlesex and long-time challengers Sussex, as well as one or two potential dark horses in the mix.  Weight of runs will be key, and having lost Joe Clarke at the end of last season, a lot is going to depend on just how well the likes of Riki Wessels and Callum Ferguson plug the gap.  Happily, Wessels in particular should act as a like-for-like replacement at the top of the order in white-ball cricket, giving the Pears a shout of that elusive trip to Lord's in its last year as a venue for the One-Day Cup final.

Worcs will naturally look to Daryl Mitchell to do his standard job leading from the front as a Championship opener; it remains to be seen whether he'll be partnered by Brett D'Oliveira again, who demoted himself down the order during a difficult 2018, or by Tom Fell who did a handy job in replacing Dolly and beginning to regain his touch (though a first century since 2015 still eludes him).  Either way, it's expected that Riki Wessels will take the number four spot vacated by Joe Clarke, while Callum Ferguson will follow as the fulcrum of the batting order.  Fresh from his selection by the MCC last month, Ben Cox remains first choice behind the stumps, and a frontline seam attack consisting of skipper Joe Leach, young Josh Tongue, the increasingly impressive all-rounder Ed Barnard and Kolpak Wayne Parnell should be more than a match for most teams in Division Two.  Knocking on the door of that already-formidable bowling unit, it's rumoured that last year's T20 hero Pat Brown will at some point get a first crack of the whip at the red-ball game since 2017, and exciting young paceman Dillon Pennington is also expected to continue his development after a promising debut yielded 22 Championship wickets last summer.  The remaining middle-order slot is likely to be up for grabs: we'll doubtless see left-arm orthodox Ben Twohig introduced as midsummer approaches, while the likes of youngster Ollie Westbury, second-choice keeper Alex Milton and hard-slogging boundary-merchant Ross Whiteley are among the extra batting options available.

Sadly, between the IPL, the World Cup and the Ashes, Moeen Ali will probably be a rare sight this year; however, we can expect a welcome return for Martin Guptill when the T20 commences in July.  Expectations will be high, and it could all go so very wrong, but there'll never be a dull moment.  Come on you Pears.

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As it's belatedly transpired that Callum Ferguson won't be available till May, Worcestershire have signed Kiwi opener Hamish Rutherford for the month of April.

Elsewhere, real spring conditions down at Fenner's saw the Pears get off to a rocky start in today's warm-up against Cambridge MCCU, with Riki Wessels departing for a golden duck on his maiden first-class appearance for the county, before the tail wagged to lift Worcs up to 215 all out.

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A routine and respectable draw in the warm-up game at Fenner's, with Worcestershire making 272-4 declared in the second innings. An inauspicious start for Riki Wessels, who faced just 15 balls all match for a total of 3 runs, but better going for 21-year-old Josh Dell, making his first-class debut and striking a maiden half-century in the second innings as he reached 63 not out. On this evidence, it looks like the Pears favour Dell as the next cab off the rank of talented local youngsters, and we may be seeing more of him this summer.

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Thursday morning sees Worcestershire opening their campaign with a first Championship visit to Grace Road since May 2016. Opponents Leicestershire got their own season off to a flying start last weekend with a surprise win down at Hove, dealing a welcome early blow to the promotion hopes of Sussex. However, the Foxes may make the case that it was no surprise at all, as their rejuvenation in red-ball cricket continues apace; last year their early-season form made them promotion hopefuls, and only a lack of batting strength caused them to sink into mid-table as the summer progressed.

If Leics are repeating their spring fireworks of 2018, then the Pears would do well to treat this match with caution. Despite losing Zak Chappell to Notts and Ben Raine to Durham, the Foxes have recruited Will Davis from Derbyshire and Chris Wright from Warks as like-for-like replacements, while Colin Ackermann remains an ever-present threat in the batting order. Meanwhile, a ten-wicket haul for ex-Derbyshire paceman Tom Taylor on the south coast makes him the seamer to watch this week.

With some cloud and sunny intervals forecast across the Midlands, it'll be interesting to see whether Ben Cox opts to contest the toss as he skippers the county for the first time. The Pears are likely to be without Joe Leach, still recovering from injury, and have now lost spinner Ben Twohig for the season. Nevertheless, it's the Worcestershire batting that will be under the spotlight, as the team can't afford the kind of regular collapses that marred 2018.

Probable Worcestershire XI: Mitchell, Rutherford, Fell, D'Oliveira, Wessels, Whiteley, Cox, Barnard, Parnell, Tongue, Morris

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County Championship, Division Two

vs Leicestershire

Day One

Morning: Leicestershire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on an unseasonably chilly April morning with a few clouds overhead. This was presumably to Worcestershire's liking, having opted to contest the toss rather than putting the home side straight in, but for the first hour of play it was hard going, with the relaid pitch offering plenty for the bowlers. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell dug in to see off the new ball, but a little after noon the Foxes got their reward with Fell bowled by Will Davis for 28. That breakthrough became a genuine foothold in the following over, when Dolly was caught at second slip for a second-ball duck, but his departure brought debutant Hamish Rutherford to the crease, and together with Mitchell the Kiwi proceeded to shepherd Worcs safely to lunch on 104-2, the happier of the two sides.

Afternoon: After the interval it only got better for the visitors, and worse for the home side. Perhaps regretting the decision to field already, the Foxes bowlers toiled through the second session with little consistency or discipline, while Mitch and Rutherford put away the regular four-balls without a fuss. Shortly before tea, Mitchell completed the thirty-sixth first-class ton of his career, on the same ground where he made his maiden half-century way back in 2005, and Leicestershire were obliged to trudge off at the interval wicketless in the session with Worcestershire 240-2 and well on top.

Evening: Some consolation for Leicestershire as Mitch was caught at slip off the bowling of Colin Ackermann in the first over after tea for 114, but no real respite as Riki Wessels joined Rutherford out in the middle, and the pair continued to punish the numerous poor balls from a tiring Foxes attack. By five o'clock, Rutherford had become the third Worcs batsman in less than twelve months (following Guptill and Milton in 2018) to mark his red-ball debut with a century; all the more astonishing as he's only the tenth of all-time to do so. About half an hour before close, Wessels was dismissed by an unlucky LBW decision for a brisk 43, having knocked a memorable three fours in an over off the new-ball bowling of Chris Wright, but with the pitch showing some signs of variable bounce, Ross Whiteley survived through to stumps alongside Rutherford, the former unbeaten on 18 and the latter on 116, with Worcestershire 348-4.

Tomorrow will be a vital day; the Pears have until around noon to make maximum batting points, though some early movement off the pitch is also likely, making for an intriguing battle between bat and ball. Make it to the afternoon relatively unscathed, and there's every chance of pushing on for 500+ and a declaration at tea, giving the bowlers chance to skittle Leics twice on a deteriorating pitch.

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Day Two

Morning: Another bright, cold East Midland morn, and despite Hamish Rutherford being caught behind off Tom Taylor for just an additional seven runs, stand-in skipper Ben Cox came to the crease and soon provided a captain's knock. Maximum batting points were brought up with a six over backward square from Ross Whiteley, and though the big man soon departed LBW to Ben Mike for 49, he'd hung on for long enough to deny the home side a second bowling point. Ed Barnard was next in, and he and Coxy succeeded in guiding the Pears to lunch on 470-6, with a handy 122 runs from the session.

Afternoon: In the second session Worcestershire stuck around long enough for Barnard to bring up a quickfire half-century, while at the other end Ben Cox completed the fourth first-class century of his career, and the first since July 2017. With the score 553-6, and the Pears innings boasting three different centurions for the first time since Solanki, Stephen Moore and Phil Jaques catapulted Worcs to 701 against Surrey in June 2007, the time had come to declare. There was time left in the session for Josh Tongue to remove Paul Horton, with a good catch taken at ankle-height by Mitchell at second slip, and for Charlie Morris to dismiss Hasan Azad LBW with a full delivery that nipped back in, reducing the Foxes to 24-2; however, Mark Cosgrove came out and counter-attacked, punishing a rusty Wayne Parnell in particular, to carry Leics to 76-2 by tea.

Evening: As the skies clouded over, for a good hour it was a long cold slog in a biting wind, and when a numb-handed Tom Fell contrived to drop Ateeq Javid twice at slip it seemed that we might have no luck at all in the final session. But finally a spell of good, tight, economical bowling paid off as a restless Cosgrove grew frustrated enough to swipe across the line at a slower ball from Ed Barnard, and the leading edge fell kindly for Dolly to take a tumbling catch at extra cover, dismissing the power-hitter for a run-a-ball 67 that could have been much, much more. In contrast, Colin Ackermann's stay at the crease was a short and cheap one, as he was tempted to reach for a delivery outside off-stump from Josh Tongue and promptly chopped the ball onto middle stump with a thick inside edge. Nightwatchman Chris Wright survived to stumps with Javid, who completed a half-century after those two early reprieves, taking Leicestershire to 180-4 at close of play. Worcestershire's day again, though not as emphatically as yesterday; the late dismissal of Ackermann just nudged the bowling performance over the line to a satisfactory return, and it's clear that on this pitch every wicket has to be toiled for. From weighing up the chances of an innings victory last night, there's now a growing suspicion that the Pears will, at some point in this match, have to bat again.

With Javid playing a measured knock to anchor the innings, it goes without saying that the opener will be the prize scalp in the morning. The new ball will be available just before lunch, and we'll have until tea to claim bowling points; hopefully if we can make early inroads, the Foxes resistance may yet crumble.

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Day Three

Morning: In the splendid April sunlight, the Pears wasted no time in getting stuck into the Leicestershire middle order, and nightwatchman Chris Wright was the first to perish, attempting to drive Ed Barnard through the onside only to clip the ball straight to Hamish Rutherford at midwicket. Following a miserable Friday, Wayne Parnell then got back among the wickets, trapping Harry Dearden LBW as he attempted a flick off the pads from a full ball, and taking the prize scalp of Ateeq Javid for 69 when he got a ball to nip away from the opener, whose edged drive carried sharply to Riki Wessels at first slip. The Foxes were 289-7 at lunch, with another session chalked firmly up for Worcestershire.

Afternoon: With the new cherry in hand, it was all over in no time. Josh Tongue accounted for both Lewis Hill and Tom Taylor, prising sufficient movement from the pitch to coax an outside edge from each, before Ed Barnard polished off the home side with a slower short ball that deceived Ben Mike on the pull, top-edging it into the clear blue sky to be caught at slip. The inevitable dilemma ensued for skipper Ben Cox: enforce the follow-on with Worcs still some 250 runs to the good? It seemed the wisest choice, and when Charlie Morris promptly demolished the Foxes top order, the acting captain was apparently vindicated. Javid was bowled for 5, while Horton and Cosgrove departed in a single over, and at tea it all seemed reassuringly easy.

Evening: But in Worcestershire World, nothing is ever easy. After the interval, Hasan Azad and Colin Ackermann stuck together at the crease to frustrate the Pears for well over an hour, with the former bringing up his half-century in the process. To their credit, with the exception of a few loose overs when tired limbs and aching backs resulted in a glut of boundaries, the Worcs attack stuck to the job and strangled the run-rate, and it was well deserved in the end when Josh Tongue fired in a wicked bouncer that Azad took his eye off, his clumsy defence looping the ball up for Mitch to take at gully. Ackermann remained at the crease, joined by nightwatchman Chris Wright who finished the day precisely where he started it; Leicestershire closed on 132-4, still 120 runs shy of making Worcestershire bat again. In the circumstances, the Pears are in about as good a position as could be hoped for, and if they can replicate today's efforts on day four then it should be a winning start to the campaign.

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Day Four

Morning: In the last of the weekend sunshine, the Pears came out determined to put this one to bed, and Leicestershire only managed to add two runs to their overnight total before Josh Tongue bowled Chris Wright with a ball that kept low and nipped in to thunder against middle stump. In the following over Charlie Morris picked up where he left off on Saturday evening by taking out the leg stump of Harry Dearden for a duck, before getting Lewis Hill to nick behind for another duck just two balls later, completing the third five-fer of his first-class career, and the first since 2015. From there, Colin Ackermann and Tom Taylor did their best to fight a rearguard action for the Foxes, remaining together at the crease for over an hour, but the game was up when Ackermann at last feathered a delivery from Ross Whiteley into the gloves of Ben Cox for 69. Charlie Morris got to work with the second new ball, dismissing Ben Mike with an edge to first slip, and wrapped up the best bowling performance of his career a few overs later when Tom Taylor, having brought up a very respectable half-century, finally holed out to Whiteley on the pull. The first Worcs bowler to take seven wickets in an innings since Miguel Cummins at Hove in 2016, and with eight for the match in total, it seems that Morris is well and truly back. As, indeed, are the Pears.

Worcestershire WIN by an innings and eighteen runs

The Verdict: With only two red-ball wins in all of 2018, we couldn't have asked for a better start to this Championship campaign than an innings victory with maximum points on the road, on a hard pitch against a team who fought every inch of the way. There's a long way to go, but this was a big statement of intent with which to commence the season.

Still, having just bid a warm welcome to the County Championship, we now bid it farewell again for a full month as the One-Day Cup gets underway on Wednesday with a trip to Old Trafford.

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Wednesday morning will find Worcestershire venturing up the M6 to kick off the 2019 One-Day Cup against Lancashire.  Both teams marked the beginning of the County Championship with emphatic victories, and though Lancs have had the weaker one-day form over the last couple of years, they always give the Pears a proper game of white-ball cricket.  One way or another, I'd expect this match to tell us a fair bit about Worcestershire's chances of making the knockout stage for the fourth year on the trot.

A glance at the corresponding fixture last season - which saw the Pears snatch an unlikely win in a last-ball thriller - shows plenty of changes to both sides.  For the Red Rose, Jordan Clark, Karl Brown and Joe Mennie are all gone, while Liam Livingstone showcases his bench-warming skills over in Jaipur.  However, the addition of Glenn Maxwell is a huge threat, while ex-Northants quick Richard Gleeson might get the nod, and there's even the possibility of a rare white-ball showing from Jimmy Anderson.  Meanwhile, Worcestershire are doing without Moeen Ali as he continues his stint at Royal Calamity Bangalore, Joe Leach remains on the road to recovery, and Joe Clarke and Travis Head have given way to Riki Wessels and Hamish Rutherford respectively.

I can't see much changing in the line-up from the weekend, beyond some cursory shuffling of the batting order.  Josh Tongue might be dropped in favour of introducing the likes of Pat Brown or Dillon Pennington, whose fifty-over performances in 2018 warrant inclusion, but the efforts of Charlie Morris on Saturday and Sunday should guarantee his place.

Probable Worcestershire XI: Wessels, Rutherford, Fell, Mitchell, D'Oliveira, Cox, Whiteley, Barnard, Parnell, Pennington/Brown, Morris

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One-Day Cup, North Group

vs Lancashire

Old Trafford, Manchester

Worcs innings: The Pears won the toss and elected to bat on a warm spring day at Old Trafford.  It immediately seemed the right choice, as Riki Wessels launched a powerplay onslaught that helped carried the visitors into three figures with early sixes off Saqib Mahmood, Jimmy Anderson and Steven Croft.  Even when Matt Parkinson had the ex-Notts opener caught at wide mid-off for 72, and Tom Fell came and went the following over for just 2, giving Lancs a foothold in the game, Hamish Rutherford and Daryl Mitchell took up the baton and continued to score at above a run a ball for the next twenty overs.  When Rutherford swept Glenn Maxwell for six over midwicket to bring up his ton, he came the first Pears player since Phil Jaques in 2006 to score a century on both his first-class and List A debut; Mitchell soon followed him to the landmark, and at 292-2 with fourteen overs left, it seemed the Pears were set for a new record total.  But Matt Parkinson led the Red Rose fightback, breaking the record 3rd-wicket partnership and running through the middle and lower order as Worcs collapsed, with only Ross Whiteley and Ben Cox making it into double-figures.  When Mahmood bowled Charlie Morris with five balls remaining, Worcestershire's 367 all out, despite being a best-ever return against Lancashire and their second-best List A innings against a major county, felt like it might be a few dozen short with the home side wresting the momentum.

Lancs innings: But facing some tight, disciplined line-and-length bowling from the off, Lancs never really got up with the asking rate.  The early removal of Haseeb Hameed for just 5, edging low to first slip when he attempted to drive a full ball from Charlie Morris, set the tone.  Boundaries were hard to come by, and though several players got a start - Keaton Jennings in particular making a half-century in a patient, threatening knock - there was no real acceleration, and no big individual innings.  Jennings and Guest shared the biggest partnership, but both were removed by Wayne Parnell in consecutive overs, with the former attempting an ill-advised lap shot to fine leg and the latter comprehensively bowled as he shaped up for a big heave-ho.  With the Red Rose well behind the required rate, Glenn Maxwell briefly looked like he might make a game of it as he scored a brisk 35 including two fours and three sixes, but eventually an attempt to hit Dolly to the rope went wrong, and he was caught at mid-on.  The game was effectively ended as a contest when Dane Vilas was caught at midwicket off Mitch, and from there the tail departed within ten overs as Ross Whiteley pinned Rob Jones LBW, Mitch coaxed a steepling top-edge from Josh Bohannon, Saqib Mahmood was run out by a direct hit, and Josh Tongue polished things off with a successful LBW appeal against Jimmy Anderson and a fast delivery that rearranged the stumps of Matt Parkinson.  Lancashire all out for 242, and an emphatic win to get the ball rolling for Worcestershire in this year's competition.

Worcestershire WIN by a hundred and twenty-five runs

The Verdict: A successful return to white-ball cricket to go with the weekend's red-ball triumph, and all from an unchanged side.  Wise recruitment has ensured no Joe Clarke blues as Riki Wessels demonstrated his power as an opener, and Hamish Rutherford is as good a back-up as any for Callum Ferguson.  With the bowling figures impressive and the wickets shared equally around, there doesn't even look to be room in this side for Pat Brown; and that's perhaps the greatest testament to the Pears strength right now.

With a break on Good Friday, Worcestershire will be back in action on Easter Sunday when they visit Grace Road for the second weekend in a row to face Leicestershire.