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One-Day Cup, Group A

vs Durham

New Road, Worcester

Worcs innings: The Pears won the toss and elected to bat on a scorching late-July Sunday, but four early wickets looked to make an instant mockery of the decision. The subsequent departure of Rehaan Edavalath for 15 just as the rebuild was getting going left the hosts in a mess at 61-5, and though Jake Libby stuck firm to the crease and anchored the innings superbly, he risked running out of partners as new man Tom Taylor made 25 in the ten overs before he too trudged backed to the pavilion. But 20-year-old Notts loanee Fateh Singh, determined not to die wondering on his Pears debut, came out swinging at above a run a ball and made a superb half-century for the cause before holing out; that shift in momentum allowed Oxfordshire loanee Tom Hinley to chip in some big hits of his own in a cameo of 24. Libby, despite his best efforts, couldn't convert his half-century to a ton as he was the last man to go on 89, and in other circumstances it might have been frustrating to not bat out the overs and leave eight balls unbowled, but 260 all out felt like a better score than we'd had any right to expect two hours earlier.

Durham innings: You don't judge the pitch until both teams have batted on it, and sure enough, with Taylor zipping the ball around corners, a triple-wicket over to open the reply was just what the doctor ordered. A run-out made it 16-4 soon after, and though Durham rebuilt well through Ben McKinney and Scott Borthwick, a spectacular catch at mid-on off Hinley saw off the latter for 33, and no-one else would put up similar resistance. With a maiden Pears wicket for Singh to help the cause, it was Hinley who bulldozed the tail to finish with 5-56 and skittle the visitors for 167.

Worcestershire WIN by ninety-three runs

The Verdict: After the slow train-wreck of the T20 Blast, the early batting collapse felt like more of the same, but it's a testament to the character of Jake Libby and the will to succeed of our on-loan middle-order that they salvaged a score from the chaos. With the ball, Tom Taylor's opening salvo that blew away the top order shouldn't be overlooked, but Tom Hinley stole the show in the last half-hour to deliver victory.

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One-Day Cup, Group A

vs Derbyshire

Racecourse Ground, Derby

Derby innings: Worcestershire won the toss and put the Derbyshire in to bat to open August's cricketing account on a humid Friday. The hosts started well, racking up 57 for no loss off the ten-over powerplay, before young Jack Home made the necessary breakthrough after fourteen overs at 82-1. Tom Hinley then picked up where he left off in the last match, chipping in a couple of crucial wickets including a fine diving return catch to remove Brooke Guest for 20, while Ethan Brookes would produce the timely LBW that dismissed Harry Came for 71 and Fateh Singh have Sam Conners stumped for a duck, but the rest of the innings belonged to Home, who not only produced his greatest career figures to date, but kicked on from his maiden five-fer to finish with 6-51 off just 7.4 overs, the best individual List A figures for a Pears bowler since Shoaib Akhtar's 6-16 against Gloucestershire on 4th September 2005. All out for 260 with two balls to spare, the job was half done.

Worcs innings: Though Ed Pollock came and went for just 11, and Rob Jones managed only a similar cameo of 17, there was no real doubt about the outcome from the first moment Gareth Roderick put bat to ball. Supported by an unbeaten 71 from the ever-reliable Jake Libby, the lengthy onslaught from Rodders - which surpassed his previous best of 137, and earned him his maiden List A 150 en route to 152 not out - was arguably only inferior to that 137 against Gloucestershire this time last summer for the pitch and the overall match situation being more favourable. In all other respects it was a classy, imperious knock that carried Worcestershire to a well-deserved third victory on the bounce.

Worcestershire WIN by eight wickets

The Verdict: With almost an entire first team missing to injury, and a bowling attack whose average age is 20.8 (and propped up by Minor Counties signings), scarcely anyone would have given the Pears a prayer in this campaign, but somehow the lads have put the Blast disaster behind them and are doing something quite special in a competition that's increasingly a fan and player favourite. Long way to go, and defeat at Northants on Sunday ended up injecting a bit of reality into proceedings, but good things are happening at New Road at exactly the time they're needed.

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One-Day Cup, Group A

vs Kent

New Road, Worcester

Kent innings: The Pears won the toss and put Kent in to bat on a somewhat gloomy Wednesday with rain ever threatening. Early inroads came by the fourth delivery as Tommy Sturgess sent down a full medium-pace outswinger that didn't do quite as much as Marcus O'Riordan was expecting, the opener's devil-may-care drive arcing round the ball and chopping it onto the stumps for 4; left-armer Hishaam Khan then strangled Beyers Swanepoel down the leg-side for 10 to reduce the visitors to 18-2 before a short rain break. Upon resumption of an innings now shortened to forty-eight overs, man of the hour Jack Home got to work in the middle overs with the vital wickets of Joey Evison, Jack Leaning and Harry Finch leaving Kent 70-5 only a third of the way through the innings, but after Tom Hinley bowled Jaydn Denly through the gate for 26, a tenacious stand between half-centurions Charlie Stobo and Grant Stewart helped pushed the visitors up to a competitive score before Fateh Singh mopped up the tail to leave them 259 all out.

Worcs innings: With Duckworth-Lewis reducing the target by one run, Worcestershire began with highly selective bursts of aggression, playing each ball on its merits lest an early collapse should hobble the chase; still, Ed Pollock and Gareth Roderick departed for 21 and 33 respectively. As Kent turned the screw with some tight and accurate fast bowling, Jake Libby and Rob Jones dug in all the more carefully, preserving wickets and reaching just 96-2 by the halfway point. Just when it seemed like slow and steady might well win the race, Jones followed up his fifty by lobbing up a return catch for Stewart on 57, and the door was open for Kent to see off Ethan Brookes for 15 and Rehaan Edavalath for 6 after brief cameos. At 200-5, needing 59 off 44, it still seemed Worcestershire's game as long as Libby - completing his fifty and wheeling out an array of ramp shots never before seen from the Cornishman - remained at the crease, but having whittled it down to less than a run a ball from the last 27, he promptly ran himself out for 75 looking for a two that was never on. The next over, Singh holed out for 20 with 21 still needed from 19 balls, and suddenly it was the southerners with the momentum. But Worcestershire's campaign has been built on youngsters and underdogs, and Hinley and Khan barely broke a sweat as they polished off the runs with an over to spare.

Worcestershire WIN by three wickets

The Verdict: It seems impossible there could ever be any one-day encounter between these two counties that doesn't end in cat-and-mouse drama, so often has it occurred in recent years. But once again, the Pears showed the resilience they habitually lacked during the Blast to get themselves over the line and maintain a competitive position within the group, though the campaign from here will hinge on the matches to come against fellow table-toppers Somerset and Hampshire.

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One-Day Cup, Group A

vs Hampshire

New Road, Worcester

Hants innings: Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat on a proper August Sunday scorcher. If they hoped it'd do them any favours on the used wicket from Wednesday's match, Tommy Sturgess disabused them in his second over by having Joe Weatherley caught behind for 10 attempting a cut, and in the final over of the powerplay Hishaam Khan got Fletcha Middleton to hole out for 23 on the pull. From there it degenerated into a collapse as Jack Home entered the attack and showcased his continuing knack for bulldozing a middle order, first removing Nick Gubbins with one banged in off a length which the Hants skipper ducked his head away from, while leaving his bat in up-periscope position to take a nick off the spine straight into the keeper's gloves for 14; then having Ben Brown caught behind for a silver duck two balls later with one on off-stump that seamed away. One from Tom Hinley and a brace apiece for Fateh Singh and Ethan Brookes polished off the tail, and Hampshire - twice tormentors of Worcestershire in white-ball cricket last summer - were all out for a tame 164.

Worcs innings: Pure fun in the sun for the Pears, with Ed Pollock making a fast and fluid half-century before being caught at backward point for 67, and Gareth Roderick falling just short of his own fifty on 47. At 121-2 it was already a foregone conclusion, and Jake Libby and Rob Jones had no difficulty seeing the hosts over the line.

Worcestershire WIN by eight wickets

The Verdict: After a disappointing defeat at Somerset on Friday this was the ideal tonic. Now second-placed in the table, a win or even a tie/abandonment at rock-bottom Lancashire on Wednesday will be enough to see us progress. Should we come the inevitable cropper, and assuming either Durham or Derbyshire will win their head to head, we'd be sweating on Hampshire's showing at Middlesex and the 0.5 swing in net run-rate they'd need to leapfrog us. Probably better to put the calculator down and just enjoy this magnificent month of calypso cricket while it lasts.

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County Championship, Division One

vs Kent

New Road, Worcester

Day One

Morning: The Pears won the toss and put Kent in to bat on a cloudy Thursday morning with summer very much on the wane. It seemed a dubious decision for the first hour of this must-win match as the new-ball bowlers failed to find much movement from the pitch and the visiting openers duly helped themselves to runs, racing to 73-0 off seventeen overs. But with retirement looming, Joe Leach was never going to go gentle into that good night, and his introduction brought two breakthroughs in an over as half-centurion Tawanda Muyeye was drawn onto the front foot by a fullish delivery that swung away late, nicked the edge and flew to second slip for 56, before new man Daniel Bell-Drummond fell almost identically for a fourth-ball duck to one on the same line, but pitching on a length and flying high to third slip. With the brakes being applied to the scoreboard, Leachy then completed a near-perfect spell with the big wicket of Jack Leaning, caught behind for 6. Worcestershire were back in the game at lunch, the score even stevens on 98-3.

Afternoon: With the fifth delivery after the resumption, Adam Finch (who'd been targeted by the openers early on) tempted Joey Evison into a wild drive at a full ball and had him caught behind for 7, while Kiwi debutant James Hartshorn - replacing the colossal injury loss of Nathan Smith - opened his Pears account and continued the cheap demolition of the Kent middle order when Harry Finch cut to backward point for 5. Ben Compton had doggedly stuck around for the visitors for two and a half hours watching partners come and go, racking up seventy-four dot balls while making his patient 20, but the opener's number was up when he feathered an inside-edge behind off Finchy to leave Kent 103-6. Matt Parkinson came in determined to flash hard, but did it one too many times when he took on Tom Taylor and was caught at second slip for 13, and the similarly aggressive Grant Stewart tried to bash a wobbling jaffa from Leachy down the ground only to be bowled for 26. The big man - who's set to leave the biggest hole in Worcestershire's first XI since Graeme Hick - claimed his eighteenth first-class five-fer with the wicket of Somerset loanee Alfie Ogborne for a duck, and George Garrett duly made it the second-best figures of his career three deliveries later, finishing with 6-52 inside of twelve overs, narrowly shy of the 6-44 he took against Leicestershire in April 2022.

Evening: With Kent bowled out for 171, the Pears started their reply just as strongly, though Jake Libby feathered behind on 30 and the returning Kashif Ali edged to first slip for 17. When a similar collapse looked like it might blight this bright start, Gareth Roderick dug in admirably for his half-century, and Worcestershire closed without further drama on 137-2. Entirely Worcestershire's day, but it's vital we don't squander this position tomorrow and allow Kent a foothold back in the match.

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Day Two

Morning: A far warmer Friday which hinted that the waning summer might have some wax in it yet, and there was early warning that the pitch and the Kent bowling attack might have life in them as Gareth Roderick edged behind for 63. New man Adam Hose made as bright a start as ever, but the watchful Rob Jones fell for 49 to a catch at second slip, bringing in the returning skipper Brett D'Oliveira to take the game to Kent and carry the Pears to lunch on 237-4, leading by 66 and maintaining control of the match.

Afternoon: The counter-attack continued apace, with every new man at the crease looking to go hard once Hose holed out for 39; half-centuries apiece for Dolly and Ethan Brookes ended somewhat frustratingly as the former fell on 97 getting impatient for three figures, and the latter saw the ball trickle onto the stumps for 50, but by that point the lead already stood at a towering 213. Though the tail threatened to fold cheaply, and before reaching 400, a class last-wicket stand secured the fourth batting point and a career-best 43 for Adam Finch before he was bowled, ending the Pears innings on 447 with a lead of 276.

Evening: A comedy run-out for Ben Compton on a duck - ostensibly not noticing the presence of a fielder at mid-off as he called for a suicidal single - raised hopes that the Pears might get things wrapped up nice and quickly, but the Kent opener Tawanda Muyeye had other ideas, going straight on the attack and scoring at a run a ball as he whittled down the lead almost single-handedly. There was, however, time for Finchy to cap a tidy day for himself by bowling Daniel Bell-Drummond for 5, leaving the visitors 104-2 at stumps and trailing by 172.

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Day Three

Morning: No play possible due to rain.

Afternoon: After hours of frustration, new man James Hartshorn made a vital breakthrough getting Jack Leaning plumb LBW for 27, and though a superb innings from Muyeye brought up his century and continued to whittle away the Worcestershire lead, Adam Finch struck another vital blow for the cause having Joey Evison caught behind for 16, leaving the visitors 222-4 at tea, trailing by 54.

Evening: The dogged Kent resistance continued, despite Tom Taylor dismissing Harry Finch LBW for 31 shortly before they reached parity; with Muyeye continuing to attack (not always judiciously, but certainly effectively) en route to a maiden double-century and the middle order playing their shots in the hope of putting a defendable lead of their own on the board, the second new ball was vital. Taylor claimed it and promptly went to work, seeing off Grant Stewart LBW for 41 and Matt Parkinson caught behind for 10, but with three balls remaining in the day, it was Hartshorn who swung one away from the tiring Muyeye and had him caught behind on the drive for an outstanding 211. 353-8 at close, Kent led by a slender 77 and needed a miracle to escape.

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Day Four

Morning: A cloudy Sunday morning, and Kent's admirable resistance continued for a while courtesy of the tail, with Tom Taylor eventually bowling Akeem Jordan - formerly of West Bromwich Dartmouth - for 7 half an hour into the day. A quarter of an hour later Worcestershire had their target, as Joe Leach had George Garrett caught behind for 6 to bowl Kent out for 376 and leave the Pears with 101 to knock off, but the loss of both Gareth Roderick and Jake Libby raised the possibility of further fun and games as the hosts went into lunch 55-2.

Afternoon: As a commentator wryly observed, the weekend's motto for the Pears faithful had been "come on, you've had your fun," first as Muyeye shredded our commanding lead, then as the Kent bowlers dismissed our openers, and finally as incoming rain delayed the restart with just 46 required. But ultimately, nothing could stand in the way of Rob Jones and Kashif Ali when they got back out in the middle, and if the latter's final push to find the winning boundaries was a little cavalier then it was no less enthusiastically received around New Road as the must-win match was decisively won.

Worcestershire WIN by eight wickets

The Verdict: Before so much as a ball was bowled this season, this fixture was earmarked as one in which we had to rack up points to stand a chance of survival, and that material need for victory gained something of a spiritual element with the disappointing final week of the One-Day Cup capping a white-ball summer in which defeat was all too often snatched from the jaws of triumph. Nothing, therefore, could have been more welcome on all fronts than this thoroughly convincing performance which lifts the Pears up to 6th in the table, plunging Lancs, Notts and Warks into fresh danger below us. The remaining schedule alternates tough journeys to Essex and Hants with home games against the aforementioned Bears and Red Rose, and as things stand, one solid 20-point win plus nine or ten assorted bonus points - or even two good draws plus six or seven bonuses - could be enough for us. So the pressure's largely off at Chelmsford next weekend; but what a joy it would be to see this red-ball momentum continue.

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County Championship, Division One

vs Essex

County Ground, Chelmsford

Day One: The Pears won the toss and elected to bat on a bright Thursday morning in the home counties, and within ten minutes it seemed a catastrophic decision as the Worcestershire top order was blown away in the space of two disastrous overs. At 10-4 after just twenty-seven deliveries the team could have been forgiven for packing up and going home, and even a brief fightback of 24 from Kashif Ali ended with him chopping onto the stumps a few overs later, but the Pears middle order managed to steady themselves from 46-5 to reach 100-5 at lunch. Essex continued to chip away with regular wickets after the interval, and a Brett D'Oliveira half-century was crucial to getting runs on the board before he too departed LBW to Simon Harmer for 68. At 202-9 the score was still looking a touch light, so the last stand of Tom Taylor (who made an excellent half-century) and Amar Virdi was vital in securing a batting point and surviving through the tea interval until the end came at 266 all out. The hosts started positively in response, but with three balls left of the day Taylor made yet another sterling contribution to the cause as he supplied the massive scalp of Dean Elgar LBW for 29, leaving Essex 50-1 at stumps.

Day Two: A sunny Friday, and after much morning toil Ethan Brookes complemented his useful 46 with the bat on day one by bowling Robin Das for an identical 46 before having new man Jordan Cox caught on 3. Just before lunch, Dolly ensured a decent session for Worcestershire by dismissing Matt Critchley LBW for 10, and at 151-5 the Pears could reasonably claim to have a foothold in the game. Fortunes waxed and waned in the afternoon as Virdi struck to break a 50+ partnership with the big wicket of Tom Westley caught behind for 68, opening the door for another two wickets before tea on 275-7, Essex leading by 9. But it was a tough evening as the tail continued to wag, and though Virdi and the returning Logan van Beek eventually succeeded in polishing off the lower order, it was for an eye-watering 404 that handed the hosts a dangerous lead of 138. Still, nightwatchman Joe Leach succeeded in seeing out the remaining five overs of the day to take the Pears to stumps safely on 2-0, hanging on by their coattails.

Day Three: Saturday dawned greyer, and two early wickets didn't help the Worcs cause. A fifty partnership from Kash and Jake Libby stopped the rot, and even when the former departed, the latter completed his half-century and took the Pears to lunch on 125-3, trailing by just 13. But two quick post-prandial wickets with the scoreboard still in arrears put Essex right back in the driving seat, and it required a counter-attacking partnership from Dolly and Adam Hose to give Worcestershire a fighting foothold in the game once more, until the skipper departed after making his half-century. 254-6 at tea with a lead of 116, it still seemed possible that the Pears might post a defendable score, but the swift double-whammy of losing half-centurion Hose for 64 and Ethan Brookes for 19 left the visitors teetering again with eight down for a 140 lead. Van Beek and Taylor did all they could in the circumstances, pulling and sweeping judiciously to take the lead up to 165 before bad light intervened to curtail the day's play, with Worcestershire needing something very, very special on the final day to rescue a match that was slipping steadily away.

Day Four: And on the first day of autumn, a warm Sunday in the south-east, something very, very special was exactly what the Pears produced. Not that there was much sign of it early on, with the tail dismissed for just eighteen further runs on the overnight score, setting Essex 184 to win against a Kookaburra ball; a target which felt at least a century short of defendable. But despite a steady start, Leachy claimed the big scalp of Dean Elgar plumb LBW for just 6, while Taylor produced a jaffa to have Tom Westley caught behind for 19, and with the batsmen struggling to find the boundary on a final-day pitch, a remarkable run-out from Brett D'Oliveira - who'd placed himself in a peculiarly fine silly mid-on position with his left foot barely an inch from the cut strip to block the straight drives of Jordan Cox - cracked out a goalkeeper's dive to try and catch one such drive one-handed, only to deflect it instead onto the non-striker's stumps, seeing off the otherwise unflappable Robin Das for 32. And the game-changing over got better two deliveries later as the skipper settled himself at silly mid-on again and threw out his right hand to snaffle another uppish drive from Cox, dismissing him for 11. 75-4 at lunch, Essex still needing 109 to win, Virdi - who'd held up an end superbly and economically all innings - struck in the first over after the resumption to turn one extravagantly in to Matt Critchley, who glanced it to leg-slip for 7. With belief ever growing amongst the Pears and ever shrinking amongst the incoming Essex batsmen, Paul Walter tried a swiping cut against Van Beek only to edge behind for 3, and though the seventh-wicket partnership of first-innings centurion Mike Pepper and Simon Harmer looked to be swinging the pendulum back towards the hosts, Taylor had Harmer caught behind for 19 with 65 still needed and Essex 119-7. Pepper remained the man who'd knock those runs off if anyone would, and when Virdi turned one in to him that rapped the pad bang in front with no shot offered, the resulting lap of celebration from the spinner was positively Olympian. With the runs drying up, everything Worcestershire touched turned to gold, and it was an astounding leg-side catch at full stretch from Gareth Roderick that put Essex nine down; Sam Cook could do nothing from there but hit for the boundary and hope, and when he holed out on 10 in front of a stunned crowd, it handed Worcestershire a first Championship win in Chelmsford since August 2008 in the most remarkable fashion.

Worcestershire WIN by forty-three runs

The Verdict: I said last week that one good twenty-point win and a healthy scoop of bonus points could mean survival for the Pears this year, and this victory might just be the one that does it. An astonishing turnaround that will live long in the memory, and provides colossal momentum for the all-important derby clash with the Bears next week.

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Leading Run-Scorers

1. Kashif Ali - 733 (56.38)
2. Jake Libby - 635 (37.35)
3. Gareth Roderick - 569 (31.61)
4. Adam Hose - 430 (26.88)
5. Brett D'Oliveira - 418 (38.00)


Leading Wicket-Takers

1. Nathan Smith - 27 (21.15)
2. Joe Leach - 22 (34.09)
3. Adam Finch - 17 (36.53)
4. Tom Taylor - 16 (26.56)
5. Matthew Waite - 15 (35.47)