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County Championship, Division Two

vs Glamorgan

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Adrift in mid-table, Worcestershire have four matches remaining to have a stab at an increasingly unlikely promotion.

Day One: Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bat on a cloudy Monday morning in early September. Early wickets were the result, with Jake Libby, Taylor Cornall and Jack Haynes all falling cheaply in the first ninety minutes, but the erratic Ed Pollock enjoyed one of his better days, shepherding the Pears to an even 88-3 at lunch and then making his half-century before being caught behind for 50. But a solid partnership between Gareth Roderick and Ed Barnard, with a brisk fifty for the latter, carried Worcs to an imposing 195-4 at tea. Roderick then completed his own half-century before Barnard departed LBW in the last over before the new ball, exposing the middle order to the new nut; two further wickets fell in a late wobble, leaving the visitors 285-7 at close, a rather more even day than it might otherwise have been.

Day Two: On a rain-plagued morning, Roderick and Joe Leach took the innings by the scruff of the neck again, the former completing his first ton for the county and the latter supplying a half-century as they set a new record eighth-wicket partnership for Worcs against Glamorgan, surpassing the 101 by Richard Illingworth and John Inchmore at New Road in 1982. That wicketless session took the visitors in to lunch on 372-7, and though Leach eventually fell for 87, there was time for Roderick to reach his best ever first-class score with 172 not out before the declaration came on 454-9. Ben Gibbon then claimed the first Glamorgan scalp as David Lloyd edged to second slip, and the hosts were 59-1 at tea. In a final session dogged by further rain and bad light, the young left-armer then struck a second time to remove Eddie Byrom caught behind. 111-2 at close, it was Worcestershire's day on balance.

Day Three: The weather was no better, but the Pears made the most of every opportunity on the field; Leach had Timm van der Gugten caught behind, Dillon Pennington bowled the dangerous Sam Northeast quickly and cheaply, then took a second with the very next ball. Rain brought an early lunch with Glamorgan 172-5, and wiped out the entire afternoon session, but after tea Worcs made up for lost time. Gibbon dismissed Billy Root LBW, Ed Barnard claimed the enormous wicket of the tenacious Shubman Gill with an admittedly iffy leg-before decision, and after a break for bad light, Pennington struck in the final over of the day to bowl James Harris and leave the hosts 241-8 at close, still sixty-odd runs short of the follow-on.

Day Four: With twelve wickets required for the win on yet another black day, Worcestershire did their all to set up a grandstand finish; Gibbon took his fourth wicket, and after a brief Glamorgan tail-wag with Michael Hogan throwing the bat at everything, Pennington had the number eleven caught with the hosts ten runs short of saving the follow-on. But sadly, it wasn't to be; the heavens opened nine balls into the second Glamorgan innings, and all attention turned to the sad news from Balmoral as the match was washed out.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: The perils and vagaries of autumn cricket. With another two and a half sessions in this match, it does feel like Worcestershire would have forced a positive result, but it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, the team played well with both bat and ball against tough opposition, which bodes well for the run-in.