[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

vs Yorkshire

One-Day Cup, Northern Group

New Road, Worcester

A warm and sunny day in Worcester brings us the biggest game of the season so far for the Pears, as first plays second in the Northern Group of the One-Day Cup.  Yorkshire, who have won all of their three games so far, will be a tough challenge; however, if Worcestershire can get the better of them then qualification will be very much within reach with only half of the group games played.

Worcs innings: Yorkshire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat.  A terrific start to the game for Worcestershire saw openers Daryl Mitchell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore race to a partnership of 135 before Mitchell was caught by Leaning.  As a succession of partners came and went, Pepsi continued to pile on the runs on his way to a grand century before being caught by Adam Lyth on 118.  Unfortunately, that was the beginning of a middle-order collapse for Worcestershire around the forty-over mark, but the big men Joe Leach and John Hastings came in and steadied the ship admirably, whacking fours and sixes for fun at the death before captain Leach was bowled for 41 and Hastings caught on 33 in the penultimate over.  There was enough time for Ed Barnard to send a cheeky ramp-shot to the boundary for four before being caught off the next ball, leaving Worcestershire all out for 342; their highest-ever List A score against a county side at New Road.  Bit disappointing in the end that the Pears couldn't see out the last seven deliveries and get the psychological boost of hitting 350, as every run may count on a good pitch with a fast outfield.  Yorkshire chased down 335 at Durham on Wednesday with a couple of overs to spare, though two hundred and thirty of those runs came from the absent Bairstow and Root; it'll all be on the likes of Lees, Lyth, Ballance and Bresnan today.  Worcestershire will need wickets to see this through.  Interesting game in store.

Yorks innings: A bright start from Yorkshire, but Worcestershire chipped away nicely and took wickets at crucial times.  After Lees and Rhodes were caught from the bowling of John Hastings, the free-scoring Adam Lyth was trapped LBW by Joe Leach and Yorkshire were in trouble.  As in previous matches, there was very little panic or alarm from the Pears through the middle overs as Dolly and Daryl Mitchell gave us some lengthy spells of economical spin.  When Ed Barnard bowled Yorkshire's last set batsman Peter Handscomb it was effectively all over, but there was time enough for the White Rose County to put on a few more runs before youngster Josh Tongue bowled Patterson and sealed the win.  Worcestershire, still unbeaten in all formats of cricket since last September, now top the northern group with seven points after claiming this scalp.  Plenty of work still to be done, but this side of young underdogs are looking very, very promising.

The future's bright.  The future's Pear-shaped.

Worcestershire WIN by fifty-one runs

Star Performer: Another team performance from the Pears with both bat and ball, with a score of 118 from "Pepsi" Kohler-Cadmore (his second century of the season in all formats and his first List A ton since last July) a solid springboard for victory, ably augmented by a fine partnership at the death between Joe Leach and John Hastings.  But as part of the opening partnership of 135, and delivering 3 crucial wickets during the Yorkshire innings, the key man in this Worcestershire victory was almost certainly former captain Daryl Mitchell, whose experience remains a vital ingredient in a relatively young team.

Next Match: Worcestershire travel to Old Trafford on Wednesday to play a Lancashire side who have tended to be tough opposition in seasons gone by.