[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Morning: Tuesday brought the hottest conditions of the season so far, and resuming on 98-2, Mitch and Tom Fell didn't hang around, piling on fifty runs in the first twelve overs of the day. Even after the latter was caught down the legside for 36 and the former was stumped for 94, Worcestershire batted on, and Dolly brought up the 300 lead just before the interval. Reaching lunch on 228-4 with the lead extended to 309, it seemed inevitable that the declaration would be made in the break...

Afternoon: But when the teams emerged, the Pears batted on. Whether the skipper thought taking defeat out of the equation was the most important thing, or if he simply believed there was enough in the pitch to bowl the visitors out within fifty overs, Worcs added another 48 runs to the total before finally calling it a day and giving Glamorgan a nominal target of 358 for the win. And for a marvellous new-ball spell, it looked as though the decision was a stroke of genius; Joe Leach himself dismissed Nick Selman LBW for a duck with the second ball, before Dillon Pennington had Kiran Carlson caught behind for 2 and Leach pinned Charlie Hemphrey leg-before for 1. At 5-3 it was the dream start, and had it continued in the same fashion then Glamorgan wouldn't have lasted much longer, but Billy Root and Chris Cooke steadied the ship to take the Welshmen in for tea on 57-3.

Evening: To their credit, Worcestershire stuck at the task through the closing stages of a punishing day, and every time it seemed like hope was just about gone, a breakthrough came. Pennington had Root caught down the legside for 34 just before five o'clock, postponing the handshake that might otherwise have come. Charlie Morris claimed the wicket of Tom Cullen LBW for 17 with just twelve overs left, and when Dan Douthwaite departed in the same fashion to give Jake Libby his first scalp for the county, there was still a sniff of a magical finish. But despite Libby bowling Chris Cooke with eighteen balls remaining, there was too little time to press on for the positive result that might have been.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: A solid performance with both bat and ball from the Pears, but naturally all the attention is on the bizarrely late declaration from Joe Leach. 300 was easily a large enough lead to put the game beyond Glamorgan's reach, and it could be argued that 250 would have been even more of a dangling carrot for the visitors to snatch at. The ten overs of the afternoon session wasted on unnecessary batting might not have yielded the extra three wickets - the Welshmen dug deep and defended well - but it would have piled yet more pressure on them at the death, and few would have faulted the skipper for declaring at lunch. As it is, Worcestershire slip into second place, just three points behind Somerset but having wasted an opportunity to retain and extend their lead at the top.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

T20 fixture schedule published. Worcestershire open against Glamorgan in Cardiff on 27th August.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Bob Willis Trophy, Central Group

vs Northamptonshire

Day One

Morning: Saturday dawned sunny, but it wasn't long before the dark clouds came rolling in, and when Northants won the toss, it was the obvious decision to put the Pears in to bat. They got an almost instant reward as Jake Libby played down the wrong line to a Nathan Buck delivery and edged to second slip for a duck. By noon, Buck had also accounted for Daryl Mitchell, who was guilty of another incautious prod which was caught at slip for 7. At 12-2, the third-wicket stand went part of the way to rebuilding the Pears innings, but Tom Fell attempted to flick Blessing Muzarabani to the legside and was caught before square leg for 10, leaving the visitors 71-3 at lunch.

Afternoon: As the sky darkened, Worcestershire's fortunes didn't improve. Nathan Buck bowled Jack Haynes for 38 just after the interval, and a collapse looked on the cards when Brett D'Oliveira skyed the ball with a desperately poor shot and ended up caught for 24. Thankfully, the rain came soon after to grant the Pears a bit of relief, curtailing the day's play and giving the team a chance to get their act together overnight.

Evening: No play possible due to rain. Worcestershire closed on 93-5.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: A distinctly un-summery Sunday morning at Wantage Road, but thankfully dry enough to get some cricket, and it was clear that the sixth-wicket pair weren't going to hang around. Going straight into run-a-ball mode, Riki Wessels brought up his half-century within the hour, and the hundred partnership with Ben Cox came up off 127 balls. At 212-5 the Pears were cruising, but Wessels was bowled for 88 attempting to smash spinner Saif Zaib out of the attack, and Cox departed in the very next over, chopping onto his stumps for 39 as he attempted to pull Blessing Muzarabani. After that, it was an astonishing collapse; Ed Barnard tried to attack Zaib but was caught in the deep for a duck, Joe Leach was pinned LBW by an inswinger from Muzarabani for 5, and Dillon Pennington nicked a jaffer to first slip for a golden duck. Five wickets for just seven runs, and Worcs were all out for 219. With time for one over of the reply before lunch, the home side went in on five without loss.

Afternoon: Under heavy, murky skies, Joe Leach got the much-needed early wicket of Ricardo Vasconcelos, who nicked to third slip for 4 leaving Northants 6-1. A bit of extra bounce on a short ball from Josh Tongue then bamboozled Ben Curran, and his top-edge was pouched safely at square leg for 14. Still the hosts weren't afraid to counter-attack, and there was some cut-and-thrust stuff before Richard Wakely slashed at an Ed Barnard delivery outside off which flew high to first slip for 9, and Richard Levi edged to second slip for 11 off the same bowler. At 60-4 the Pears looked firmly in command, but another careful rebuilding job carried Northants to 90-4 by tea, which proved the last of the day's action as the rain closed in.

Evening: No play possible due to rain.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: With the most promising day's forecast of the match so far, there was plenty to do on Monday, and Josh Tongue provided early momentum when he tempted Charlie Thurston into an attempted square drive off the back foot which instead flew into the keeper's gloves for 21. True to form in a game which has seen wickets come in clutches, the next fell quickly as Saif Zaib tried to drive Joe Leach but only got a thick edge which was snaffled at slip on the second attempt for 23. It became three in three overs when Tongue removed skipper Adam Rossington for 4 as he edged low to third slip, and at 100-7 it looked like Worcestershire in the driving seat. But taking their cue from the Worcs sixth-wicket partnership, Nathan Buck and Gareth Berg promptly counter-attacked, and put on a useful 59 before Ed Barnard dismissed Buck for 32, caught at second slip. He made it a brace for the morning with Muzarabani also caught at slip for 15, but the Northants power-hitting continued in the meantime, and by the time Joe Leach finally had Gareth Berg caught behind for an important 45, the home side were 212 all out and Worcestershire's first-innings lead had dwindled to a mere seven runs.

Afternoon: After two strong performances, Jake Libby was probably due a bad one, and sure enough he departed early for the second time in the match with another poor shot, edging to first slip for 3. But that was the only joy for the hosts with the new ball, as the second-wicket partnership went hunting boundaries and found plenty. Things were looking cosy right up until the last over of the session, when Daryl Mitchell was adjudged LBW to Jack White for 39, and the Pears thus went in for tea 78-2.

Evening: Another solid start for Jack Haynes failed to become a big innings as he got a leading edge on a Zaib delivery and was caught at slip for 32. And again, the wickets fell in a clutch; successive overs from Nathan Buck saw Brett D'Oliveira caught behind for 5 and Riki Wessels bowled off an inside edge for the same score, and as play continued well into the late-summer evening to make up for lost overs, Ben Cox also fell for 2, caught at extra cover from a leading edge off Zaib. At close of play the Pears were 177-6 with a lead of 184, setting up a potentially thrilling final day in which all three results are still possible. And beyond the wider team game, Tom Fell remains at the crease overnight on 81 not out, nineteen short of what would be his first century in first-class cricket for five years, having battled cancer in the meantime. Whatever else the fourth day brings, I think we'll all keep our fingers crossed for Tom to get over the line.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Morning: A pleasant Tuesday at Wantage Road, but there was plenty of tension in the air as Worcestershire resumed on 177-6. A checked on-drive for two and a cover-drive for three were the only really attacking strokes of the first half-hour as the pair at the crease nudged and nurdled their way carefully to the 200 lead, which was the first milestone of the day; but of course, far from the most important. Tom Fell, into the nervous nineties for the first time since his return from battling cancer, was watchful at the crease as he slowly ticked off the necessary runs, reaching 99 with a bottom-edged hook off Muzarabani. The five-year wait for a ton finally ended in the next over with a flick off the hip down to long leg off Gareth Berg, and his sixth first-class century was greeted with wild applause from the pavilion. It was also the cue for the acceleration to start, as Ed Barnard pulled Berg's very next delivery into the stand for six, Fell contributed another couple of quick-fire boundaries, and Worcestershire finally declared on 255-6 with Northants requiring a stiff-but-achievable 263 in seventy overs to win. With half an hour till the interval there was plenty of time to hunt the first breakthrough, but despite Joe Leach beating the edge with a jaffer and Ben Curran surviving a very strong shout for a catch at short leg, Northants made a positive start and went in for lunch 28-0.

Afternoon: There was always the fear that after last week's unnecessarily late declaration, all caution was going to be thrown to the wind in this match, and for a while it looked like the decision to end the second innings had come too soon. At two o'clock not a single wicket had been taken all day, the pitch was looking devoid of demons, and most worryingly of all, Ricardo Vasconcelos was finding the boundary with regularity and ease. In the end, it was Leach who got the ball rolling with Ben Curran dismissed LBW for 17, and as we'd seen on previous days, wickets came in bunches. Josh Tongue, just finding his rhythm, struck twice in an over to remove Vasconcelos LBW for 31 and then tempt Alex Wakely into a mistimed shot which came off the splice for a catch at mid-on. The minor rebuild that followed didn't last anywhere near long enough for the hosts, as Ed Barnard came into the attack and caught the edge of Charlie Thurston's bat with his fifth ball, before the dangerous Richard Levi attempted to drive Dillon Pennington and was caught low at gully. It became a six-wicket session when Pennington delivered a wide, full ball to Saif Zaib which the batsman flashed at and nicked behind for five, and could have been even more but for an early tea forced by rain, with Northants 114-6 and reeling.

Evening: With a couple of big hitters still at the crease, and their intention being to treat the remainder of the game as a white-ball chase, the key for the Pears was to remain calm, let the batsmen swing and not be fazed by a couple of expensive overs. After Josh Tongue bowled Gareth Berg for 18 with a ball nipping back through the gate, skipper Adam Rossington decided - perhaps unwisely - to simply lash the bat at anything that moved, and inevitably he top-edged a steepler from Leach that was comfortably caught behind. After a little more power-hitting, Pennington coaxed a little more bounce from the pitch to take the shoulder of Muzarabani's bat for 11 and provide Ben Cox with his 500th career catch, leaving Ed Barnard to bowl Jack White for a golden duck and wrap up a comfortable win with an hour to spare.

Worcestershire WIN by seventy-eight runs

The Verdict: A riveting match and fine victory for the Pears, doubly important because the final-day weather at Edgbaston denied Somerset a certain victory and allowed Worcs to reclaim top spot. There's still a temptation to curse our caution last week and the possibility that we might have had an even bigger lead by now, but there's no way of fixing that except to show the same spirit in this weekend's huge derby against Warwickshire - the first meeting of the sides in the first-class game since June 2015 - that we've just displayed to maximum effect at Wantage Road.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The last time the Pears met the Bears in first-class cricket, David Cameron was newly re-elected and David Bowie was enjoying his last summer on earth. It's been half a decade since the rivals locked horns in the longest format, and a staggering twenty years - this very week in August 2000 - since Worcestershire last triumphed over their neighbours with the red ball thanks to a first-innings 160 from Vikram Solanki. The Bob Willis Trophy is offering Worcs a marvellous opportunity for a match to remember at New Road, and with the current slender lead over Somerset, there's everything to play for.

Warks are missing Dom Sibley thanks to England duty, and a top order that includes the likes of Ian Bell and Sam Hain has been mysteriously misfiring. So far in the competition they've drawn with Northants on a dead pitch, arsed up a run-chase against Gloucestershire and scraped another draw against Somerset thanks to a fortuitous day of rain. It's probably too late to be thinking about Lords, but if they want to maintain their two-decade-long unbeaten record against the Pears then they'll need Bell or Hain to find a bit of touch, or even Tim Bresnan to regain some of the lower-order clubbing power that saw him to a century in the season's first game and made him the county's top scorer so far in 2020. With ball in hand, it'll be Oliver Hannon-Dolby - with 18 wickets in the competition at an average of just 18.78 - who's the principal threat.

The weather may well be the worst enemy of both sides, with showers forecast on Sunday afternoon, all day Monday and thunderstorms on Tuesday. But as the forecast for Taunton is hardly any better, the Pears can only forge ahead and hope for the best.

Probable Worcestershire XI: Mitchell, Libby, Haynes, Fell, Wessels, D'Oliveira, Cox, Barnard, Leach, Tongue, Morris

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Bob Willis Trophy, Central Group

vs Warwickshire

Day One

Morning: A bright and breezy late-summer Saturday at New Road, and after winning the toss, Worcs put Warwickshire in to bat. Even at the time it looked a questionable decision, and despite the early wicket of Rob Yates edging to first slip for 2 after being squared up by Charlie Morris, there was barely a hint of another chance all morning as the Bears cruised comfortably to 68-1 at lunch.

Afternoon: And the carefree batting simply continued all through the second session. Both Will Rhodes and Sam Hain brought up their half-centuries over the course of the afternoon as Warks went in for tea on 155-1.

Evening: Some reward at last when Sam Hain flicked a legside delivery from Ed Barnard and was caught behind for 55. In the very next over, Joe Leach got the big wicket of Ian Bell, caught at backward point for 1 off his sixth ball, but there was no opening of the floodgates after that. The Pears did well to keep Warks on a leash and restrict the scoring with some accurate, economical bowling, but the visitors still closed on a strong 228-3, and Worcestershire will have to be deadly with the new ball in the morning to have any hope of retaining a winning chance in this match.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: After much toil with the new ball, Charlie Morris finally made the much-needed breakthrough when Dan Mousley edged behind for 47, opening the door for the Pears. Ed Barnard capitalised in the very next over when Michael Burgess departed for 1 in the same fashion courtesy of a full outswinger, and though Tim Bresnan managed a few characteristic slogs, he too perished soon after, pulling Morris to deep square leg for 17. Tight bowling through the innings forced the Bears to hit out desperately in the closing overs, and Will Rhodes gifted a fourth wicket to Morris as he nicked behind with a big swing for 207, before Alex Thomson obliged with a similar dismissal for 17 off Josh Tongue. That wicket brought the morning to a close with two overs remaining of the innings, and Warwickshire making heavy going on 354-8.

Afternoon: There was time for Charlie Morris to complete his five-fer, with Craig Miles pulling a short ball up into the blue sky and holing out to mid-wicket for a duck. With one wicket and five balls remaining to advance the score, Warwickshire somewhat bizarrely elected to declare at that point, bringing their first innings to a close on 355-9 and allowing the Pears to progress with few alarms to 60-0 in their reply by tea.

Evening: After a tranquil first day and similar conditions in the Glamorgan match, there was always the chance that this pitch was simply a flat deck offering nothing to the bowlers, and the Worcs opening partnership certainly had no undue cause for concern in the lazy Sunday-teatime light. Both openers brought up their fifty in the course of the session, with Daryl Mitchell passing 19,000 career runs in all formats as the Pears reached stumps on a comfortable 170 without loss. Between the flat track and the dismal day four forecast, it'll take a miracle to wring a result from this match, and it's really all about the bonus points for Worcestershire on Monday.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: On a Monday of intermittent sunshine, patchy cloud and scattered showers, a watchful start from the openers couldn't save Jake Libby from a blinding one-handed diving catch at wide first slip off the bowling of Hannon-Dalby for 84. Still, Daryl Mitchell made good progress, bringing up his 13,000th first-class run on 96, then completing his 37th first-class century - a first ever against Warwickshire, making Surrey the only remaining county he's never made three figures against - shortly after. Sadly, he perished presently with a flashing drive that was snaffled at backward point for 110 off Craig Miles, and with two fresh batsmen at the crease, Worcestershire were 244-2 at lunch.

Afternoon: On a slow pitch, Tom Fell and Jack Haynes did well to up the scoring rate, each making a half-century before the latter holed out to deep mid-off for 51 attempting to launch Ryan Sidebottom, and the former was yorked by Hannon-Dalby for 55. Riki Wessels came and went for a duck in the same over with an inside edge onto the stumps, and when Brett D'Oliveira was adjudged LBW to Bresnan for 17, a collapse was on the cards. But as they've done in so many white-ball games, Ben Cox and Ed Barnard went on a mission to finish the innings well, earning a fourth batting point with a few balls to spare, nudging the Pears into a first-innings lead, then extending that advantage as quickly as they could until rain curtailed the session with Worcs 378-6.

Evening: Resuming at quarter past four, the 400 came up shortly before Ben Cox perished LBW to Will Rhodes for 43 in the final over, and the reply concluded with Worcestershire 410-7, leading by 55. However, the flat track continued to cause no problems for batsmen in the time remaining, and the Bears reached stumps on 68 without loss, almost certainly the last action we'll see in this rare first-class encounter between the West Midlands rivals as Storm Francis descends. Providing the weather again denies Somerset the two wickets they need for victory at Taunton, a draw is far from the worst outcome here.