[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

vs Northamptonshire

County Championship, Division Two

New Road, Worcester

Day One: Unsurprisingly, Northants put the Pears in to bat on a gloomy, overcast day.  A green pitch and bowlers' conditions led plenty of wickets to tumble, starting with Dolly dismissed early again for just five runs.  Moeen Ali, making his first appearance of what could be his last season at New Road, put on a half-century during useful partnerships with both Daryl Mitchell and Joe Clarke, but a respectable total of 117-3 at lunch crumbled away with a second-session collapse to an eventual 188 all out.  Nevertheless, Northants fared little better on the tricky pitch as the Pears bowlers went to work, taking six wickets in the evening session with four for big Joe Leach, including two in two balls. At close of play, with Northants 102-6 and trailing by 86 runs but with opener Ben Duckett still not out, it all feels finely poised.  Sunny weather forecast for tomorrow: if Northants weather the early storm and put on a late flurry of runs for the last four wickets then they could yet have their noses in front, but collapsing to a first-innings deficit would put the Pears right in the driving seat.  Getting Duckett out early doors will be crucial for Worcestershire.

Day Two: A fine and sunny day, but this was still a bowler's match, and a remarkable one at that. Ben Duckett was caught behind off John Hastings as Northants finished their first innings by crumbling to 157 all out, but the Pears were no better at the crease, with the top order collapsing completely, the middle order faring little better and only a last-wicket stand of 45 from Josh Tongue and Ed Barnard dragging Worcestershire up to a competitive total, setting Northants 185 to win.  In a real cat-and-mouse run-chase, Northants tried to play cautiously and see off the new ball, getting their noses in front once or twice with useful contributions from Newton, Holden, Rossington and Levi, but every time they threatened to get a solid partnership together, Worcestershire struck.  Another five-fer from Joe Leach to match the one he got in the first innings paved the way for victory, with Josh Tongue also on song with four utterly crucial wickets. It still went down to the wire, and there was a good deal of tension around New Road as the Northants tail tried to wag with a few boundaries, but when a final Leach delivery got Andy Carter plumb LBW in the late evening sunlight, the Pears claimed their second successive win with 20 runs to spare. What a day, and what a game!

Worcestershire WIN by twenty runs

Star Performer: In a low-scoring game, the first-innings half-century from Moeen Ali proved decisive, and Josh Tongue's four-fer in the second innings also swung the pendulum firmly in Worcestershire's favour at a point when it looked like the match might slip away. But taking ten wickets in a match for the first time, it was a true captain's performance from Joe Leach, and the big man can be proud of his part in leading the Pears to back-to-back wins.

Next Match: With a month's break from the County Championship, the One-Day Cup gets underway this Thursday as Worcestershire welcome a strong Nottinghamshire side to New Road.