[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

One-Day Cup, North Group

vs Nottinghamshire

New Road, Worcester

Notts innings: Notts won the toss and elected to bat on a cloudy morning, it what was undoubtedly the worst decision a visiting side has made in many a moon. At 25-0 there seemed no real danger to the group leaders, but when Joe Clarke fell LBW to a Charlie Morris delivery that nipped back at the end of the fifth over, the subsidence began. Pat Brown, playing his first game of 2019, earned his first wicket of 2019 with List A debutant Lyndon James trapped LBW on the last delivery of the following over, and just two balls later, Jake Libby nicked a Morris outswinger behind to leave the visitors 31-3. Chris Nash and Samit Patel brought nine overs of stability, and it looked like the Pears would repeat Sunday's mistake of allowing a partnership to flourish until Wayne Parnell began the best performance of his Worcs career so far. In the space of one over, the South African tempted Patel to pull to deep square leg with the first ball, bowled Steven Mullaney with the third and Tom Moores with the sixth for an astonishing treble-wicket maiden that reduced Notts to 58-6. New man Paul Coughlin faced only twelve deliveries before pulling his hamstring on a quick single and being stretchered off, exposing the tail; opener Chris Nash, still at the crease, was the last hope for a decent score, but after completing his half-century he promptly pulled Daryl Mitchell to square leg off the very next ball, and the end was nigh. The tail wagged a little to push Notts into three figures, but Parnell completed his first five-fer in Worcs colours when Matt Carter was caught at midwicket and Jake Ball edged behind at the end of thirty-two overs, leaving the visitors 121 all out: just three runs more than their lowest ever List A total against Worcestershire in 1982.

Worcs innings: In a near mirror-image of the Notts innings, the Pears made it to 25-0 before Riki Wessels was adjudged LBW for 18 despite a suspicion of bat involved. From there, the home side seemed to relish making heavy going of the chase on a pitch that really wasn't doing all that much. Callum Ferguson, making the first appearance of the season, was bowled for 13 by a ball that seemed to keep low, but from there on the dismissals grew softer and softer. Daryl Mitchell attempted to lift the ball over the infield quite unnecessarily, and was caught at mid-off for 20, while both Dolly and George Rhodes contrived to get themselves run out before Worcs had even reached three figures. It was Ross Whiteley and Tom Fell - fresh from Sunday's half-century - who limped over the line, completing a much-needed victory in an incredibly peculiar match.

Worcestershire WIN by five wickets

The Verdict: The result was always what mattered in this tough encounter, but a sixth batting collapse in six games is troubling beyond words. Far calmer heads required on Saturday, when Yorkshire visit New Road, but good to see Wayne Parnell joining Graeme Hick and Kabir Ali as one of just three Pears bowlers to grab five-fer against Notts in one-day cricket.