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Day Three

Morning: The new ball did indeed make all the difference on a cloudy Friday morn; handed straight to Dillon Pennington, the new cherry ricocheted off the inside edge onto Tom Price's stumps for 46 as the young man attempted a wild, flashing drive, and then cannoned into the front pad of Jack Taylor next ball to send him packing LBW for a duck. Ollie Price completed his century - a fine knock in the circumstances - but fell rather limply when Matthew Waite had him caught driving straight into an obvious trap set at silly mid-on, departing for 116. The eighth-wicket partnership held things up a while, though not to the extent that Worcestershire's pair did in the first innings; just as it looked like the stand might cause problems, Adam Finch had Zafar Gohar caught for 20 at short extra cover, then beat Paul van Meekeren for pace to uproot the off stump for a duck two deliveries later. Matt Taylor soon went down swinging, top-edging to third man to gift Finchy his third in eight balls, and Gloucestershire were 301 all out, conceding a first innings lead of 105 to the Pears.

Afternoon: With the pitch still offering something, there was always a possibility of the new ball claiming casualties, and sure enough, the recent form of Gareth Roderick wasn't enough to keep him from edging Tom Price to second slip for 10. The next wicket was considerably more careless, as Azhar Ali attempted an uncharacteristically cavalier uppercut over the slip cordon that fell comfortably into the hands of third man for 14, and Kashif Ali - on a pair in only his second first-class match - got himself off the mark but then offered up a simple return catch off a leading edge to Van Meekeren for 4. On the brink of that particular precipice, 55-3 and leading by just 160, it required yet another measured but resoundingly positive knock from Jake Libby to hoist Worcestershire out of their funk, the Cornishman scoring with typically consummate ease square of the wicket as he made his fifty, and the Pears made lunch 109-3 with the lead now 214.

Evening: It was ultimately a supporting role for Adam Hose that came to an end when he chopped on for 21 after the break, but Brett D'Oliveira was a more-than-capable replacement at the crease, tucking into the wide and short-pitched bowling with confident back-foot shots on the off-side while Libby completed his third century of the season and the fifteenth of his career. The skipper was caught at backward point for 46 trying to bring up his half-century with a boundary, while the opener was pouched at square leg for 117 as the declaration race began in earnest under greying teatime skies, but there was still time for Matthew Waite to tear Gloucestershire to shreds with a series of thumping leg-side sixes, notching his half-century in just 22 balls and carrying the Pears lead over 400 until he was caught behind off the first ball of the day's final over for a 32-ball 62, bringing proceedings to a close with Worcs 316-8, leading by 421. An overnight declaration is now a must; indeed, many would argue that a couple of overs at the hosts tonight would have been a better strategy, but the Pears now have the cushion of knowing that runs won't be an issue tomorrow in aggressively pursuing what would be a crucial victory if we can mange it.

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Day Four

Morning: A Saturday of sun with fluffy cumulus clouds scudding over Cheltenham, and having made the necessary overnight declaration to set Gloucestershire a fairly nominal target of 422, Joe Leach got the ball (quite literally) rolling for Worcestershire when he claimed his fortieth scalp of the summer, bowling over the wicket to the left-handed Chris Dent and drawing him forward to a ball angled across his body, the resulting edge flying to third slip for 24. Adam Finch then removed Joe Phillips with a short ball that the young opener shaped to pull, but seemingly halted in mid-stroke and lobbed up a tame top-edge to point for 26. More short stuff from Finchy saw the dangerous Ollie Price also top-edging, this time to deep fine leg for 14, and a lunchtime score of 106-3 indicated that despite a relatively even session, Worcestershire were pretty much on the right course.

Afternoon: For three and a half days, the story of the match had been one of lengthy partnerships interrupted by clutches of wickets, and so it was on a bright Saturday afternoon as Leach breached the resistance of James Bracey, having him caught behind for 19, before Dillon Pennington had Tom Price snaffled behind the stumps prodding at a ball that snaked away. A continuing rearguard action from Miles Hammond carried the hosts past three o'clock, but again one wicket brought two; Hammond went to pull a back-of-a-length delivery banged in by Finchy, but the ball kept a touch low and Hammond simply bottom-edged onto the stumps for 64, while Zafar Gohar was squared up by a fuller and straighter Finch ball and was bowled off a possible outside edge for 5. 192-7 at tea, comfortably Worcestershire's session, and mopping up the tail inside thirty-nine overs seemed almost a formality.

Evening: But few things are a formality on Planet Pear, and for twenty-three of those thirty-nine overs Gloucestershire frustrated Worcs as Jack and Matt Taylor dug in admirably and produced some marvellous strokes against a tiring attack labouring doggedly with the old ball. Sixteen remained when the second new ball was taken, and there were some 89 deliveries left when Jack Taylor, poised on 98, played the ball firmly back to Pennington who promptly hurled it at the batsman's feet, striking Taylor's lower leg. This spot of dissent from the bowler rightly resulted in five penalty runs, but not in his withdrawal from the attack; a judgement which proved fateful two deliveries later when Taylor, his cage perhaps rattled by the incident, threw the kitchen sink at a ball outside off and dragged it onto his stumps, the clatter of the bails and the silence of the crowd a stark substitute for the illusory thump of the boundary fence and approving roars that had doubtless preceded his rush of blood. The controversial over was capped two deliveries later when Pennington sent down a full and fast one that Zaman Akhtar fenced at, nicking low to first slip for a silver duck. It was, perhaps, fitting that the last stand should offer another spell of resistance, and the overs remaining were into single digits - just 54 balls left to be bowled - before Pennington wrapped it up with a searing yorker on off stump to bowl Paul van Meekeren for 7.

Worcestershire WIN by one hundred and ten runs

The Verdict: Our first back-to-back Championship wins since May 2019, a first win at Cheltenham since 2014, and suddenly the idea of Worcestershire claiming second place (and deserving it) isn't so fanciful. The run-in against Glamorgan, Yorkshire and Durham in September will be real make-or-break stuff, but should we come through that test, promotion would be a fitting reward. Across four days, there's no doubting that the better team won this encounter, and though Gloucs have probably got just grounds for complaint against Pennington (and many a Pear wouldn't lift a finger to defend our departing prodigy from that criticism), the umpires clearly decided that the nature of the incident didn't warrant his withdrawal from the attack, and no one forced Jack Taylor to play the shot that triggered the collapse. With Rob Jones arriving on loan this weekend ahead of his permanent move from Lancashire, we could hardly have more momentum going into the One Day Cup.

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One-Day Warm-Up

vs Shropshire

London Road, Shrewsbury

Salop innings: Renewing an acquaintance that first began on Hartlebury Common in August 1844 (with no fewer than seven Worcestershire ducks in an innings that nosedived to 27 all out), the Pears travelled to London Road for the first time since June 2012, where opponents Shropshire won the toss and elected to bat under a cloudy sky.  There were four first-team debuts, and the new boys were straight into the action as Canadian-born 19-year-old Olly Cox took a diving catch at mid-wicket to give Ben Gibbon his first wicket and see off George Hargrave for 4, before 18-year-old Harry Darley rattled in like a javelin-thrower and beat the attempted drive of ex-Pear Tom Fell with a full ball that clattered middle and off for 1.  With his nagging stump-to-stump line, a little bit of nip in off a full length was enough for Gibbon to beat Andre Bradford's forward defensive and bowl him through the gate for 9 in the seventh over, and an almost identical delivery in Gibbo's next over drew a rather wild on-drive from Jack Home with the same result; ball through the gate, off stump cartwheeling for a six-ball duck.  At 23-4 Shropshire managed a much-needed nine-over rebuild, but added only 19 runs before Josh Baker had skipper Charlie Home caught and bowled off a leading edge for 10, and Cameron Jones picked up his maiden scalp by bowling Matty Simmonds for 5.  67-6 at the halfway stage, a run-out from Olly Cox saw off Ben Lees for 23, and Sam Ellis was caught at slip for 4 to provide us with a rare Jake Libby wicket, leaving the hosts 105-8 after thirty-two overs.  The pace of Darley then polished things off in double-quick time as ex-Pear Ollie Westbury - who'd played a truly fantastic hand for Shropshire in the circumstances with six fours in his half-century, one of only three men in the opposition to reach double figures or even find the boundary - was caught behind for 56, and the incoming Ben Parker was given LBW for a third-ball duck to end the Salop innings with nine overs to spare and set a target of 125 to win.  Alas, the weather had other ideas, and Worcestershire were unable to commence the chase as the rain forced an abandonment, but a few valuable cameos have given us a glimpse of what young talent we might see in the coming weeks, as well as the chance to see the likes of Tom Fell and Ollie Westbury thriving in their new home.

Match ABANDONED

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Leading Run-Scorers

1. Jake Libby - 909 (56.81)
2. Gareth Roderick - 596 (33.11)
3. Matthew Waite - 565 (35.31)
4. Azhar Ali - 533 (26.65)
5. Adam Hose - 503 (31.43)


Leading Wicket-Takers

1. Joe Leach - 41 (28.41)
2. Adam Finch - 28 (25.71)
3. Matthew Waite - 26 (31.34)
4. Dillon Pennington - 19 (24.10)
5. Ben Gibbon - 18 (40.27)

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Durham

Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street

Worcs innings: Durham won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on an overcast Tuesday morning that kicked August off in the same miserable vein as July. A positive start by the openers put on 58 before Brett D'Oliveira moved to the off-side to ramp a ball from Paul Coughlin, was struck on the leg in line with an imaginary fifth stump, and promptly adjudged LBW for 28 by umpire Stevie Wonder. Partner Azhar Ali also scored above a run a ball, but after pulling Oliver Gibson for 6 the young seamer responded by bowling him for 41, and new man Rob Jones departed LBW for a measured 24 on the sweep to Liam Trevaskis. It fell to Kashif Ali to really get the innings motoring, bringing up his half-century with one of the four total sixes in his knock, and despite partner Jake Libby being caught off a top-edge for 45, at 248-4 with eight overs remaining, a score north of 330 seemed on the cards; but another iffy LBW decision was given against Kash on 76 when a full left-arm orthodox ball from Trevaskis angling down leg and showing no apparent off-break struck him in front. It proved the beginning of a collapse as Trevaskis completed a hat-trick and Coughlin followed up with the eighth wicket soon after, but as he's done so many times before, Ben Cox played a blinder at the death with a half-century lifting us up to 300 with an over to go - supported ably by 15 from Dillon Pennington including two fours, and an unbeaten 13 from Ben Gibbon encompassing a six - and eighteen runs off the fiftieth resulted in Worcestershire's highest List A score against Durham, surpassing our 275-3 off forty-five overs in July 2001 and setting 319 to win.

Durham innings: A strong start for Graham Clark meant a strong start for Durham, and though Gibbo pegged them back having Alex Lees caught behind for 12, the runs continued to leak all over the pitch. Ten overs later Josh Baker had the dangerous David Bedingham caught for 31, but the scalp of Clark was his major breakthrough, having the opener stumped for 79 after Coxy fumbled the ball then recovered sufficiently to shovel it off the ground onto the stumps. From there the wickets came regularly: Ben McKinney chopping the third delivery from Matthew Waite on for 5, Dolly breaking out the googly to see off Michael Jones LBW for 18 and bowl Liam Trevaskis for 12, before having Paul Coughlin caught on the boundary for 23, and with the run-rate climbing and boundaries at a premium, attempts at big hitting did for the tail. Baker bowled Migael Pretorius for 15 aiming a blow over cow corner, George Drissell was run out for 15 by a direct hit from Dolly with the bat bare centimetres short of the crease, Gibson was bowled by Pennington for 1 to wrap things up with twenty-two balls to spare, and only 21-year-old Jonathan Bushnell - left unbeaten on 60 - could claim to have offered any real resistance from the middle order.

Worcestershire WIN by forty-two runs

The Verdict: After a nightmarish and somewhat stillborn campaign last summer, getting off the mark quickly was the only concern this time round, but doing so with a record win (and a first away against Durham since 2016) is so much the better. There seems enough hitting in our top and middle order to cause problems for most teams; with the ball, Gibbo was a touch expensive, but may have been preferred to Pat Brown as the latter got hit around the park a lot in the Blast. Dolly and Baker look a potent threat for putting the brakes on and taking wickets in the middle overs, while even Waite, Pennington and Leach managed to bowl economically despite some early damage (the former managing to bowl one of only two maidens in the match). Bring on the next game.

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Glamorgan

New Road, Worcester

Glamorgan innings: The Pears won the toss and put Glamorgan in to bat on a grey Friday that produced more than enough mischief from the white ball to justify the decision. The opening stand reached a watchful 36 before Tom Bevan, who'd already survived two LBW appeals, chased a full wide one angled across his body from Ben Gibbon and edged to first slip; in his next over, the left-armer then produced either the cleverest or jammiest bit of fielding of the summer to deflect an Eddie Byrom straight drive onto the non-striker's stumps with his lower leg, running out the dangerous Colin Ingram for 8. Byrom himself was the next to go, getting into a tangle over a Dillon Pennington delivery which may have nipped in a little as he shaped for a back-foot drive, tried to turn it into a late leave as the ball cramped him for space, and succeeded only in inside-edging onto the stumps for 25; the tall pacer then saw off Billy Root with a similar if slightly straighter delivery that nipped away, took the edge of a forward push and nestled in the keeper's gloves. As the sun showed its reluctant face for the first time, the scaffolding around the cathedral spire provided a handy metaphor for Glamorgan's middle-over, middle-order rebuild from 73-4. They made it to 137 before Brett D'Oliveira got in among the wickets, tempting Kiran Carlson down the pitch to hit over the top but only finding long-on, and a dithery run-out was the end of new man Alex Horton soon after the halfway mark. Ben Kellaway continued the innings he'd begun with Carlson, making a patient half-century to keep hopes alive, but was in danger of running out of partners as Dolly bowled Andy Gorvin for 6 with a well-flighted top-spinner through the gate, and Josh Baker had Harry Podmore edging to backward point from an attempted cut. The ninth-wicket partnership added some thirty more to a subsiding innings until Baker bowled Jamie McIlroy with a full straight one, and 19-year-old Kellaway could only shepherd the last stand with fellow undevicegenarian Ben Morris to the acquisition of 18 further runs before he became the last man to fall, caught at long-on for 82 - destined to be the highest score of the match - off Dolly to leave Glamorgan 199 all out with almost ten overs remaining; their lowest List A total against us since being bowled out for 118 in the Sunday League in August 2010.

Worcs innings: Mirroring Glamorgan's early progress, the Pears also made it to 36 (albeit three overs more slowly) before Dolly was caught behind off an inside edge for 22 following a flurry of confident early boundaries. The pitch was continuing to do enough for the bowlers and the boundary boards were hard to find, but four an over was the magic number for the hosts, and they kept up with it thanks in no small part to a determined half-century from Azhar Ali, ably supported by Rob Jones until the ex-Lancs man attempted to replicate a towering six from the Pakistani after thirty overs and perished at long-on for 37. A couple more maximums for Azhar followed until he was stumped for 78 off a wide in Kiran Carlson's next over, and needing only 44 more from 100 balls, Worcestershire proceeded to stagger over the line in the most ham-fisted manner imaginable, losing Kashif Ali, Ben Cox and Matthew Waite one by one to low scores as they tried to turn on the fireworks. Jake Libby was thankfully a calm head in a squall, however, and with too few runs on the board to exploit the collapse, Glamorgan gifted us the win with five wides in the forty-second over.

Worcestershire WIN by four wickets

The Verdict: Two games in, and Worcestershire have managed to equal the number of wins in last summer's campaign. It seems a more settled side from the off than the one which had Ed Pollock, Taylor Cornall and Gareth Roderick in and out of the top order in 2022, and - perhaps crucially - lost Dolly to Birmingham Phoenix (God spare us) after the opening match. On the other hand, maybe our white ball coaching has simply come on in leaps and bounds over the last twelve months, and it could well be that there's a certain golden ratio to be achieved for a county side between T20 success and flying under the Hundred radar; certainly, of Worcestershire's three franchise departures this year (Josh Tongue, Mitchell Stanley and Adam Hose) only the latter was a lynchpin of our Blast side, and no other T20 quarter-finalist has lost so few cricketers to the ECB's hobby horse. Blast champions Somerset (missing nine players) will be an acid test for this theory down in Taunton on Sunday, but having lost there to Warwickshire today, the Pears are at least in with a shout of inflicting double Midland misery for the West Country men this weekend.

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Gloucestershire

New Road, Worcester

After a frustrating defeat in Taunton, bowled out a couple of dozen short after playing one too few batsmen in pursuit of a gettable target, Worcestershire are back on the horse on home turf and buoyed by new signings Ethan Brooke and Logan van Beek.


Worcs innings: Gloucestershire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on a sun-soaked Thursday that promised a little life in this fickle summertime yet. The pitch at first seemed to offer life too, sufficient to justify James Bracey's decision; Zaman Akhter's opening over went for just one squirted run on the on-side, Tom Price found some outswing off a full length in a second over that could easily have replicated his Championship hat-trick from April, and Akhter followed up immediately with a maiden that tempted Ed Pollock into a few careless swishes of the bat outside off, so it was a just reward for the visitors when the opener departed for 2 in the sixth over to a full, straight stump-to-stump delivery over the wicket from Tom Price that nipped away, took the edge of an attempted on-drive and flew to first slip. Not until the fifty-second delivery of the match did the trickle of ones and twos give way to a first boundary as Gareth Roderick (who'd enjoyed some good fortune thus far) skipped down to Zaman Akhter and lofted a full one over extra cover, and it proved to be the only one of the opening powerplay which the Pears concluded on 24-1, with almost as many unsuccessful Gloucestershire appeals as runs on the board. But if the boys from Bristol thought they were in for a low-scoring bum-squeaker, the ensuing acceleration would have come as a nasty surprise; with the ball ageing and the surface browning nicely in the sun, a busy second-wicket partnership played increasingly confident strokes, picked up dogged ones and twos and found safe routes to the rope where possible. Gloucs struck back with a short one from Anwar Ali that had Rob Jones feathering behind on the pull for 20, but Worcestershire's innings continued to gather pace as Rodders took a liking to Paul van Meekeren, producing a delightful well-controlled cut backward of point for four and a far streakier top-edged six over deep fine leg before cover-driving Akhter en route to a hard-fought 57-ball half-century. With the two red-ball openers rattling along above a run a ball, the Pears were 117-2 at the halfway stage as Gloucs turned to their spinners, and some enticing long-hops from Graeme van Buuren tempted skipper Jake Libby from his watchful stance into some expansive boundary shots as he advanced to his fifty off 55 deliveries, reaching the landmark by taking Tom Price for a couple of crunching pulls then a flat-batted four back over the bowler's head. A precisely run-a-ball ton - his first in this format for the county - for Rodders was the next milestone, and while he anchored the innings, Libby was free to unleash the kitchen sink and every other appliance on the increasingly demoralised Gloucestershire attack; a ramp, an effortless chip straight down the ground and two fierce pulls were the highlights of a tired-looking Anwar Ali over that went 4-1-2-6-4-6, and it was a shame when the captain's fun had to end on 86, caught at gully off a thick edge. Rodders was the next to go for 137, and in similar fashion, having bested his previous List A high score of 104, but kept the crowd entertained to the very end with a cavalier reverse-sweep for six and a four slog-swept over cow corner from way outside off. All that remained was the pepper the boundaries at ten an over for the remainder, and in that cause Kashif Ali plundered a dashing 39, Matthew Waite 24, and debutant Logan van Beek a brutal 41 off just 19 balls, including the brace off a Tom Price beamer that carried Worcs beyond their previous highest List A score versus Gloucs, 316 scored off forty overs at New Road in August 2008. 375-7 was the eventual damage, Worcestershire's fourth-highest one-day total, just one run short of the third-highest and a maximum away from being our best against a first-class opponent. A long and far cry from 24-1 after ten.

Gloucs innings: Gloucestershire tried to mirror the slow-and-steady beginning Worcestershire had used early on, and even did a better job of keeping the scoreboard ticking above four an over, but a rapid double-blow either side of the first powerplay's end saw Van Beek prise out James Bracey for 16 with a mistimed pull for his maiden Pears wicket, and Ben Gibbon have new man Ollie Price held slicing low to point for 2. Gloucs social media had trumpeted to the heavens the return of Harry Tector to their side, but the Irishman ran himself out for 2 haring down the pitch like a bewildered emu, and Graeme van Buuren followed two overs later for 12 when Pat Brown struck his back leg bang in front of middle stump, despite the veteran inanely moseying three feet outside off-stump after the impact and then giving the umpire a meaningful glare from his new home, as if the LBW laws make allowance for one who decides to go on holiday to silly point after the finger's been raised. One every couple of overs had been the pattern since the first wicket fell, and it culminated with a second for Browny as he dusted off his 2018 vintage knuckle ball to draw a mistimed defence from Chris Dent that offered a simple return catch for 38, and from there it was almost anti-climactic, as the visitors never looked a threat to Worcestershire's total however patient their rebuild. Another small subsidence around the thirty-over mark saw Van Beek have Tom Price caught at mid-on for 43, Anwar Ali hole out off Libby for 6 and Josh Baker strangle Tom Smith down the leg-side for 7, but few at New Road begrudged Jack Taylor - who threw away his innings and the match on 98 at Cheltenham a fortnight ago after a bit of shithousery from Dillon Pennington - the maiden List A century he completed in the ten overs that followed; the only man in the Gloucs line-up to find the boundary with anything close to the ease Worcs did, and indeed, the only one to clear the ropes at all. Just when it looked like the Pears had resigned themselves to letting Taylor harmlessly whack his way through the dying overs, Van Beek had him caught for 121 with ten balls remaining, and fellow Dutchman Van Meekeren was seen off for a golden duck next delivery to leave Gloucestershire 290 all out.

Worcestershire WIN by eighty-five runs

The Verdict: Our most enjoyable one-dayer since Covid? With due apologies to 2021's tail-end comeback victory against Kent and a thumping win over Essex at Chelmsford a week or two later, it's a resounding yes. In fact, in terms of pure boundary-bashing joy there hasn't been a game like it since one Callum Ferguson was keeping the windscreen repair firms of Worcester in business some four or five years ago, and there's an argument to be made that unlike the pancake-flat deck that allowed the Aussie to tumble records against Leicestershire in 2018, Gareth Roderick's gear-shifting knock that began against nagging, nipping, bat-beating jaffas was played on a more challenging surface. Halfway through the group stage we've already surpassed our total wins in 2022, but two T20 humiliations against Warwickshire so far this season are crying out to be avenged, so Sunday will be colossal.

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Northamptonshire

Wantage Road, Northampton

As avoiding humiliation against the noisy neighbours proved beyond us for the third time this summer, the Pears were back on the horse with a visit to the East Midlands.

Northants innings: Worcestershire won the toss and put Northants in to bat on a splendid late-summer Wednesday morning at Wantage Road. There was no question about the wisdom of the decision as Matthew Waite had Emilio Gay caught at second slip off the eighth delivery of the match, and three overs later Dillon Pennington pinned new man Sam Whiteman plumb LBW for 2 with a full inswinger over the wicket, before having the dangerous Ricardo Vasconcelos caught at second slip for a quickfire 25. From 38-3, a ten-over rebuild added nearly fifty runs to the score of the hosts, but again they were pegged back when Pat Brown bagged a brace, having Rob Keogh caught at point for 35 when his cover-drive came off a thick edge, then the incoming Justin Broad soon outgoing as he bunted a short wide one straight to extra cover for 1. Veteran Luke Procter tried to take command, only to chip Josh Baker unconvincingly to mid-off for 31, and after seven further overs of resistance from Lewis McManus, the middle order was polished off when the skipper tried to come down the wicket to Waite and merely yorked himself for 15. But an admirable eighth-wicket partnership of 108 kept the home side in the game, led by Tom Taylor with an 80-ball ton and supported by young James Sales, whose wicket broke the stand when he was LBW to Pennington for 25. Logan van Beek then had new man Simon Kerrigan top-edging to mid-off for 2, and no sooner had Taylor completed his century - his fourteen fours and one six just one more boundary away from equalling the rope-finding contribution of the rest of the team combined - than Van Beek had him caught at long-off. 252 all out with the new ball offering plenty, Northants had at least given themselves a chance.

Worcs innings: There was room for an early wobble, though not without assistance from some dreadful umpiring as Gareth Roderick was given out caught at second slip for 1 off the sixth ball of the reply, which struck his thigh pad a foot away from the bat. Fellow opener Ed Pollock once again lived by the leg-side swipe and died by the leg-side swipe, caught at deep square for a run-a-ball 25, but there were to be no further casualties for another thirty overs, and by that time the outcome was all but decided. Another fine and measured anchoring role was supplied by Jake Libby with an unbeaten 82, but Rob Jones was indisputably the man of the hour, notching his maiden List A century (and first for Worcestershire in any format) with a two-and-a-half hour knock that weathered the early danger and earned the right to the flashing fours and thumping sixes that filled the late afternoon. Eventually caught at backward square for 122, Kashif Ali came in and contributed a muscled six over deep mid-wicket from low on the bat as part of his unbeaten 9, en route to the commanding back-foot drive from the skipper that trickled to a halt at extra cover, allowing the single that carried Worcestershire to a vital win.

Worcestershire WIN by seven wickets

The Verdict: Having gone from the sublime to the ridiculous on a painful and sold-out Sunday at New Road, a response was needed, and a response was emphatically delivered against a group rival very much in contention for a quarter-final spot. The gloriously one-eyed Northants commentators on the livestream claimed the match was won and lost at the toss, as if their top and middle order largely committing seppuku on a pitch that their number eight then scored a hundred on is some chance blow from the hand of fate; needless to say, it's a vast disservice to Worcestershire to pretend that our efforts with bat and ball were played on easy mode (and for the sake of argument, even if the pitch offered us a little extra help in each innings... it's *your* pitch, lads). Two further outings remain on Friday and Sunday against teams out of the quarter-final race, and for the first time in years, Worcs are motoring in the most venerable white-ball format.

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One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Derbyshire

Racecourse Ground, Derby

Worcs innings: Derbyshire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on a wet Friday with the first intimations of autumn in the air. A delay until mid-afternoon reduced the match to 30 overs per side, and the new ball then reduced Worcestershire to 11-2 within four overs as Ed Pollock was bowled by Sam Conners for 1 and Gareth Roderick caught at slip off Suranga Lakmal for 5. But the same partnership which wrecked Northants on Wednesday came good again in the East Midlands, carrying the Pears safely beyond the halfway mark with a half-century for Rob Jones - who was caught at long-off for 53 - and an equally assured fifty for Jake Libby, leaving Worcestershire at a crossroads on 106-3 with seventy-six deliveries remaining. And at that moment, Hurricane Kashif hit Derby; in an innings that seems almost certain to attract the attention of white-ball franchises, the dot and three singles the young SACA alumnus took off the first four deliveries of his knock were the merest spots of rain presaging the deluge, the breath of wind through the leaves which tells the weathered old Midwestern cowpoke that it's coming on to blow like a sonofabitch. And in that vein, the first six slog-swept over midwicket off Mark Watt (though Midwest is where Kash might well have been aiming) was the instant when the weathered old cowpoke glances skyward and wonders why his tractor is scudding through the heavens like a hot-air balloon. There were four more deliveries bided with judicious dots and singles before the onslaught resumed with Luis Reece hoisted over cow corner for six and then pulled for a square, meaty four; 16-year-old debutant Harry Moore was the next to get the treatment as a steepling leg-side flick cleared the rope by a couple of feet, then a sadly predictable shorter ball got pulled for a flatter maximum over midwicket. Dropped off a full toss on 32 and facing Luis Reece's attempts to hide the ball outside off, Kash kept the field spread by fetching the ball to leg once or twice, then reached his half-century off 21 balls with three consecutive and utterly dismissive fours on the off-side; a flat-batted baseball heave, a lofted cover-drive, then an elegant late cut to put the icing on the cake. A couple of effortless sixes down the ground off Watt, a leg-glance for four and a yorker creamed through mid-wicket off Lakmal, a further straight drive for six and pull for four off Moore, and Kash was a couple of big blows away from bulldozing Moeen Ali's record List A ton for Worcestershire off 46 balls in 2007; alas, reaching for the ball outside off, he was caught on the boundary for a 36-ball 88. One brought two as Libby departed in the next over, caught and bowled by Moore for 73, but a 10-ball 22 from Ben Cox pushed Worcs over the psychological finishing line to 254-6.

Derby innings: All credit to them, the openers set about the chase with bloody-minded purpose, and were nearly a third of the way to the target without loss before Harry Came holed out on 34 to Pat Brown. New man Tom Wood also perished to a catch in the deep for just 8 off Dillon Pennington, but 118-2 at the halfway mark was a better position than Worcestershire had been in, and the match was on a knife-edge. By the nineteenth over it was 145-2, but then a crucial two in two from Matthew Waite - Wayne Madsen caught at point for 10 and Haider Ali LBW for a golden duck - swung the pendulum tantalisingly towards the Pears. And it continued to swing as a single over saw Josh Baker drop a top-spinner short to beat the sweep of Brooke Guest and uproot leg stump for 12, before Alex Thomson played all round a fuller ball on leg stump that bowled him for 1. With the required run-rate up to 12, Luis Reece carried on hitting for dear life as he had since the innings began, but on 96 he became the first victim of another double-wicket over as he perished on the pull to deep square leg off Browny, who then had Moore caught for 2 at short midwicket and Watt pouched in the deep. It was all done bar the shouting, and that shouting was duly delivered by Baker when he bowled Conners for a duck. Derbyshire 192 all out, Worcestershire with one foot in the quarter-final.

Worcestershire WIN by sixty-two runs

The Verdict: Another stern test passed with flying colours, and it's fantastic to see Kashif Ali continue his evolution into the new Moeen even if every soaring six hastens the day when he scoots off to some more glamorous shore. Northants are now the only side who could deny Worcs a place in the knockouts, and our fate will be in our own hands on Sunday as a single point against Sussex would be enough to see us safe.

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

One-Day Cup, Group B

vs Sussex

New Road, Worcester

Sussex innings: Sussex won the toss and elected to bat on a warm and wonderful Sunday morning, suggesting they've paid little attention to how the New Road pitch plays during a first innings. Bowling over the wicket, Matthew Waite dispatched left-hander Harrison Ward LBW for 2 with a full inswinger off the ninth delivery of the day, and Worcestershire tightened the screw when Dillon Pennington - also going over the wicket to Sussex's top-order southpaws - gave the slip cordon catching practice, nipping a length ball away from Tom Alsop's back-foot defensive and producing a fuller one with a hint of outswing to beat an aggressive straight drive from Tom Haines in his next over. After a short rebuild, and with one stump to aim at, Jake Libby was bang on the mark with a pick up and throw to run out James Coles for 24, while partner Zak Lion-Cachet - one of two Sussex debutants to sound like he'd stepped off a scorecard from a century ago - departed for 34 after chopping Josh Baker onto the stumps; the first of three for the young spinner, who then had Charlie Tear caught at extra cover and Bertie Foreman - the pipe-smoking 1920s coal miner to Lion-Cachet's raffish Agatha Christie cad - bowled for 35. The latter had contributed well to a decent stand with Daniel Ibrahim, who made a half-century before being caught at deep square leg off Logan van Beek as he tried to accelerate in the final ten; the Dutchman then had Sean Hunt caught before a Rob Jones run-out wrapped up the innings, 190 all out with four overs to spare.

Worcs innings: Worcestershire took no needless risks early doors, scoring at a red-ball rate as the openers waited until the seventh over before striking a boundary and ended the first powerplay on 37-0. When Gareth Roderick upped the tempo, it led to his downfall on 41 as he was taken at long-on, but Azhar Ali was able to make a 61-ball half-century and it took just 26 balls to reach the same milestone for Kashif Ali in another dynamite knock. With the Ali twins blazing it around the park the chase was never in doubt, and the Pears booked their quarter-final place in style with barely more than half of the innings elapsed.

Worcestershire WIN by eight wickets

The Verdict: Whisper it quietly (because July's humiliating T20 quarter-final is still distressingly fresh in the mind), but for the first time in four years we have a Worcestershire white-ball team that's going places. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to find out whether we have a home or away knockout, as Gloucestershire have one last opportunity to leapfrog us back into second place against Durham, but as long as we can finish the summer proper with some fire in our belly - the weekend will bring a T20 encounter with New Zealand as well as Sunday's quarter-final - us Pears will be a happy bunch.