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Worcestershire 119 for 7 (Waite 47*, Bailey 3-9, Phillip 3-44) vs Lancashire

Lancashire made up for lost time and maintained their Vitality County Championship Division One survival hopes after Tom Bailey and Anderson Phillip impressed with the new ball against Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Bailey and Phillip fully justified Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings decision to put the home side into bat in reducing them to 22-5 and then 56-7 in seamer-friendly conditions when play got underway after lunch.

The duo both picked up three wickets to give Lancashire an ideal start to a game they have to win to keep alive their chances of remaining in the top flight for another season.

Lancashire began the game 15 points adrift of third from bottom Nottinghamshire but last week’s win over Somerset at Emirates Old Trafford had kept them in contention.

Bailey bowled eight overs on the trot and returned excellent figures of 3-9 while Phillip had 3-44 from seven overs.

Worcestershire had already guaranteed their safety during a recent run of three wins in four matches and their eighth wicket pair of Matthew Waite and Logan van Beek led a partial recovery.



They plundered 63 in seven overs but the rain which had washed out the morning’s play returned after tea.

Worcestershire made two changes from the side in action against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl with the fit again Waite and Jack Home replacing the injured Tom Taylor and spinner Amar Virdi.

Lancashire kept faith with the side which had defeated Somerset.

Tom Bailey’s second delivery of the opening over accounted for Gareth Roderick who drove at a ball of full length which was swinging away and he edged to Will Williams at fourth slip.

Jake Libby square cut Anderson Phillip for four but then was stuck in the crease and nicked another ball which moved away to Harry Singh at third slip.

Rob Jones was undone by an excellent full length swinging delivery from Phillip and was caught behind.

Kashif Ali steered Bailey to first slip and then Brett D’Oliveira pushed at the same bowler and perished at second slip.



Adam Hose off drove Bailey to the ropes to move into double figures but it became 39-6 when Ethan Brookes played forward and was bowled with a fullish length delivery which did just enough to nip away.

Phillip came back into the attack to replace Bailey after a superb opening spell of 8-4-9-3 and he soon claimed his third scalp when Hose tried to on drive a delivery slanted towards leg stump and ended up deflecting to Jennings at second slip.

Waite decided attack was the best policy and pulled and on drove Williams for sixes in his first over which cost 15 runs.

Logan van Beek also went on the attack and he struck Balderson and Williams for further maximums.

By tea the eighth wicket pair had added 63 in just seven overs but the players were unable to return for the final session after a heavy downpour.

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Day 2 washed away

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Worcestershire 180 (Waite 60, van Beek 48, Phillip 5-65, Bailey 3-22) and 0 for 0 lead Lancashire 177 (Waite 3-38) by three runs

Lancashire’s relegation from Division One of the Vitality County Championship was confirmed on the third day of their final match of the 2024 campaign against Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

After bowling out the home side for 180, Lancashire were themselves then dismissed for 177 in 55.1 overs.

Their fate was sealed as relegation rivals Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire picked up sufficient points from their meeting at Trent Bridge to both guarantee their own safety.

It was their fourth relegation from the top flight since last winning the title in 2011 – in 2012, 2014, 2018 and now 2024.

Worcestershire had already guaranteed their own safety with a game to spare and now have their sights on trying to secure a top six finish.

They resumed on 119-7 and Matthew Waite completed his half century off just 37 balls with four sixes and two fours.

He was given staunch support by Logan van Beek during a free-flowing partnership of 84 from 15 overs.

Waite (60) eventually fell to Phillip when he went for a pull through mid wicket but gloved the ball to Keaton Jennings at second slip.

Joe Leach, in his final match before retiring, received a standing ovation from supporters on his way to the wicket but made only two before he was bowled off the inside edge to give Phillip his fifth wicket.

Van Beek and Jack Home added 26 useful runs for the final wicket before the former on 48 from 70 balls chopped on to George Balderson

Phillip finished with figures of 13-2-65-5 and Tom Bailey 15-5-22-3.

Lancashire were left 35 minutes batting before lunch and they suffered an early setback.

Skipper Jennings drove at a delivery from Waite and the ball flew to Rob Jones who held onto a head high chance at second slip.

Josh Bohannon had an escape in the same over before he had scored when Waite failed to hold onto a sharp one-handed return catch away to his right

But there was another breakthrough when Harry Singh pushed forward to Leach and was caught behind.

The wickets continued to tumble after lunch when Bohannon attempted to work Leach to leg and was lbw.

It became 30-4 when Rocky Flintoff attempted a straight drive and was also leg before.

Keeper Matty Hurst and George Bell tried to repair the damage and added 43.

But Hurst was dismissed when he clipped Waite to Home at mid wicket.

Home came into the attack and accounted for Luke Wells (38) who lost his middle stump working to leg.

Waite picked up a third scalp when George Bell missed a straight ball and was lbw.

Ethan Brookes added to Lancashire’s woes in his first over after tea as Bailey became another lbw victim to a delivery which cut back.

Determined resistance came from Phillip and Balderson who added 56 for the ninth wicket.

But the innings was wrapped up with Balderson (38) caught low down by Waite at mid-on off Brookes and then Phillip (30) was collected at cover by Brookes off van Beek.

Bad light halted play at 5.10pm after one over of Worcestershire’s second innings.

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Worcestershire 180 (Waite 60, van Beek 48, Phillip 5-65, Bailey 3-22) and 223 for 9 (van Beek 44, Hose 41, Phillip 4-77) drew with Lancashire 177 (Waite 3-38)

Lancashire finished their 2024 campaign with a draw against Worcestershire at New Road.

West Indies bowler Anderson Phillip struck with his first ball of the day for Lancashire as Jake Libby played too early at the delivery and offered a gentle return catch.

Phillip struck again when Kashif Ali, Worcestershire’s leading run-scorer in the Championship this summer, went for a flashing drive and edged through to keeper Matty Hurst.

Gareth Roderick completed 2,000 first class runs for Worcestershire when he reached nine but added only five more before he was run out.

Rob Jones turned Phillip towards cover and he and Roderick set off for a single but the keeper-batter was unable to make his ground before Will Williams direct hit at the non-striker’s end.

Jones (17) was lbw after aiming to drive Tom Bailey and Club Captain Brett D’Oliveira lost his middle stump to the same player. Ethan Brookes was lbw to a delivery angled in by Williams at 78-6.

But for the second time in the game Matthew Waite led a counter-attack, this time in partnership with Adam Hose.

He pulled Phillip for six and a similar shot off the same bowler brought another boundary. Hose provided excellent support, mixing solid defence with a series of fine strokes, on driving George Balderson and straight driving Williams to the ropes.

Waite raced onto 37 from 27 balls before he aimed another pull at Phillips but this time picked out Harry Singh at deep square leg.

The seventh wicket pair added 55 in just nine overs. Hose’s determined knock of 41 off 109 balls came to an end when he was lbw to give Bailey his third wicket.

Van Beek advanced to 44 before he holed out to deep mid-wicket off Phillip but then Leach had time to end with a flourish in making 30 not out before bad light halted play at 3,30pm with 41 overs remaining.

Philip finished with nine wickets in the game, whilst Tom Bailey took six.

Lancashire finish ninth in Division One in 2024 and, as confirmed on Saturday, have been relegated to Division Two in the Vitality County Championship.