[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Morning: Easter Sunday's skies were a little cloudier, though with sun breaking through now and then. But an early breakthrough proved elusive, and with time almost as important as runs, it was frustrating for Worcestershire to concede an hour of the former and 65 of the latter without a wicket. It took an inspired moment from Gareth Roderick, standing up to the stumps, to take a Joe Leach delivery down the leg-side and whip off the bails one-handed in a heartbeat, dismissing the off-balance Zak Chappell for 45. A slightly less glorious moment followed for Leach as he put down a simple caught-and-bowled chance from Ben Aitchison, but it cost the Pears nothing as Josh Tongue had the newcomer caught at mid-on for a duck in the next over. Having had a miserable match so far, it was a balm to Tongue's confidence and his figures to coax a reckless drive from Sam Conners that flew to first slip for 4, and after a protracted game of cat-and-mouse with the last-wicket partnership - all fielders back on the boundary to foil Leus du Plooy as he hunted for a century and sought to protect Suranga Lakmal - the young man made it three wickets in a row as he pinned the Sri Lankan LBW for a duck with a full inswinger. Chasing 192 to win, with 126 the county's highest successful chase at Derby, there was time for Ed Pollock to plunder a few early boundaries and nick Aitchison behind for 13 before the Pears went in to lunch on 17-1.

Afternoon: 175 remained to knock off, and if there were any nerves out in the middle, Azhar Ali showed no sign of it; indeed, his trademark square drives and wonderfully-timed leg-glances were soon skimming to the rope as the Pears scored freely through the afternoon. There were half-centuries for both batsmen, and the deficit was reduced to 35 when, as before lunch, the final over brought a wicket. Azhar was the one to go, LBW to Chappell for 62, but with Worcestershire 156-2 at tea, the result was all but assured.

Evening: If the outcome was beyond dispute, the question remained whether Jake Libby could complete his first ton of the season in the time remaining. With Jack Haynes providing solid support but allowing his partner to lead the charge, it was never really in doubt; Libby blitzed through the nervous nineties by skipping down the track and hoisting Matt Lamb for six, before taking the quick single that brought up the hundred later in the over. The finish line was in sight by then, and Libby duly polished off a record chase for the county in Derby when he glanced Anuj Dal to the boundary at twenty past four.

Worcestershire WIN by eight wickets

The Verdict: For the first time since 2019 Worcestershire kick off a full-length campaign with a victory, and a deserved one at that, against a team tipped by many to be dark horses this summer. It's also a first red-ball win in Derby since 2017, and if there were weaknesses on show here and there - the top-order subsidence in the first innings, the wild lines and lengths employed by our bowlers at times against aggressive Derbyshire batsmen - they were dwarfed by the obvious strengths. Jake Libby, Azhar Ali and Jack Haynes continue to show their class, and becoming skipper has been nothing but a boon to Dolly; while no one expected Matthew Waite to step directly into Ed Barnard's shoes, his century and five wickets this weekend were no less than Barney would have contributed. Josh Tongue may have some way to go before hitting his peak again, but is heading in the right direction, and with Dillon Pennington still to add to the attack, there's no reason why the Pears shouldn't be taking twenty wickets every week. Whisper it quietly, but the future may once again be Pear-shaped.