[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

One-Day Cup, North Group

vs Leicestershire

Grace Road, Leicester

Leics innings: The Foxes won the toss and elected to bat on one of the hottest Easter Sundays on record. It was a dream start for the Pears in the first over, when both Paul Horton and Mark Cosgrove fell victim to the swinging new ball in the space of three deliveries from Charlie Morris; sadly, that was as good as the day got. From there on Leicestershire first steadied the ship, and then raced away with Harry Dearden contributing 91, Lewis Hill 118, and Colin Ackermann a thumping unbeaten 152. With such a flat track it was always going to be a long, thankless slog in the field, and some of the half-dozen chances that came and went for the Pears were tricky asks, but the wheels really came off at the death with too much short stuff from the bowlers, misfields in the deep and sitters going down. Leicestershire closed on 377-4, one run more than they scored in the corresponding fixture last year, and so for the second season on the trot, Worcs set about a near-impossible chase.

Worcs innings: Asking lightning to strike twice was always unlikely, and the game was very nearly done within six overs as the Pears were reduced to 24-4. Thankfully, as the ball lost its swing batting became easier, and a major recovery led by Dolly and Ross Whiteley - the latter en route to his maiden List A century - not only salvaged some pride, but also kept Worcs in with a shout of snatching the win. The Pears kept up with the run-rate, and one or two extra wickets in hand would probably have allowed them to cruise home, but sadly a few too many silly shots pulled the rug out from under our feet, and the visitors were finally bowled out for 339.

Worcestershire LOSE by thirty-eight runs

The Verdict: A brave effort from the middle order, with a couple of personal bests from the likes of Whiteley and Barnard, but it just wasn't Worcestershire's day. No choice but to move on and show an improvement in Wednesday's fixture against Durham: the first home match of 2019.