[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: No alarms and no surprises on another grey morning at Doncaster Close, as the third ball of the day saw Josh Tongue tempt Rehan Ahmed into a flashing drive with a fullish ball that nipped away, took the edge and flew through to the keeper for 33. Even the most ardent Pear-green pessimist could hardly have seen the outcome as anything but a foregone conclusion from there, but there was a quarter of an hour's happy hitting for Chris Wright and Callum Parkinson till Tonguey decided to go top and toes, the "top" seeing off Parkinson as he fended a fierce bouncer to leg gully and the "toes" yorking Matt Salisbury for a silver duck two deliveries later to complete the victory in a little over twenty minutes. A five-fer for Tongue - perhaps the last we'll see from him in Worcestershire colours - and a third win of the campaign for the Pears in a wide-open, draw-wracked Division Two.

Worcestershire WIN by one hundred runs

The Verdict: There will, one suspects, be questions raised over whether the Oakham pitch was fit for first-class cricket, as bad light was really the only thing that kept this from being a two-day match. But it would be a tremendous shame for the outground to go another sixteen years without a Championship match, because the festival deserves a chance at hosting county cricket in proper summer weather and attracting a real Rutland crowd. For Worcestershire, having ridden out some very tough encounters so far this campaign, there's a prospect that we might yet burgle second place against the odds in the last four matches. Jake Libby is looking in decent nick again, while promoting Gareth Roderick to opener has neatly solved that long-standing problem while also creating space in the middle order. Us supporters all have strong feelings about the situation with Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington, and the removal of Adam Finch from the match to make way for the former sticks in the craw, but both men ultimately showed dedication and contributed to the victory, Tongue particularly justifying his belated selection. It could well be the last five-wicket haul we see from Josh Tongue as a Pear, but on a broad principle of not looking back in anger, hopefully we can remember it as a fitting farewell.