20-05-2018, 04:52
(This post was last modified: 24-05-2018, 06:23 by Ska'dForLife-WBA.)
One-Day Cup, Northern Group
vs Derbyshire
New Road, Worcester
![[Image: 1enj9s.jpg]](http://i67.tinypic.com/1enj9s.jpg)
New Road, Worcester
![[Image: 1enj9s.jpg]](http://i67.tinypic.com/1enj9s.jpg)
Worcs innings: The Pears won the toss and elected to bat on a glorious May morning at New Road, eleven months on from the disappointing conclusion of last year's brilliant One-Day Cup run. It seemed at first that Worcestershire were picking up where they left off against Surrey last June, losing openers Daryl Mitchell and Joe Clarke (who retains the spot he gained in the 2017 T20 Blast) within the first seven overs. At 28-2 it was hardly an inspiring start, but the third and fourth wicket partnerships proved fruitful, with Tom Fell grabbing a welcome half-century before being caught behind off the bowling of Luis Reece. Around the thirty-over mark the home side were 150-4, and the departure of Dolly for a well-made 46 eight overs later brought Ross Whiteley to the crease for his first Pears appearance since last August. The former Derbyshire power-hitter wasted no time going into full-on Carnage Mode, and in the space of the last twelve overs Worcestershire piled on nearly 140 runs, with some 70-odd coming off the last five. Though Whiteley finally holed out for a fearsome 58 off thirty-nine balls, his partner Ben Cox was able to complete an unbeaten half-century at a little over a run a ball, while an eight-ball cameo from Ed Barnard piled on a further 23, pushing the Pears up to 323-6; their second-biggest total of all time at New Road in fifty-over cricket, after last year's 342 against Yorkshire.
Derby innings: After a terrific performance with the bat at Edgbaston in the week, Derbyshire started brightly, finding the boundary quite easily despite the early loss of Ben Slater, caught and bowled down low by Joe Leach. Billy Godleman departed ten overs later, leaving the visitors 66-2 but keeping up with the run-rate, and the subsequent third-wicket partnership proved a real headache for the Pears. With Derbyshire cruising nicely towards the total and plenty batting to come, it was Ed Barnard who made the crucial breakthrough, removing Luis Reece with a full, straight delivery that smashed into middle and off as Reece mistimed a sweep. After Matt Critchley bizarrely elected to leave his bat dangling in the air to a Josh Tongue bouncer, gifting a simple catch behind, the big wicket of Wayne Madsen fell for 87 as the veteran played a reverse-sweep straight to short third man, and the task became insurmountable for the visitors. The tail offered little resistance, with Smit, Viljoen and Sharif being dismissed within the space of six balls, and though Alex Hughes grabbed a few boundaries and a couple of sixes at the end to narrow the margin of defeat a little, this proved a fairly comfortable return to List A cricket for the Pears.
Worcestershire WIN by fifty runs
The Verdict: At last, a victory for Worcestershire in 2018, and though the group-topping exploits of last year will probably prove beyond us this year, we've certainly made the best possible start to the campaign. The acid test will come on Wednesday, when the Pears travel to Headingley to face Yorkshire.
"I would rather spend a holiday in Tuscany than in the Black Country, but if I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I should make straight for West Bromwich." - J.B. Priestley