Worcestershire Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at New Road, Day 2 Report

 

Day 2

TONGUE BITES BACK AFTER PEARS TIE NOTTS DOWN

Worcestershire lead Notts by 68 runs with five wickets standing after 13 wickets fell on the second day at New Road.

Play started in bright sunshine with Taylor and Allison bowling with Notts resuming on 46 for 1 off 16 overs. In the 20th over, Slater (24) got a thin edge to Allison, keeper Roderick taking a regulation catch, 50 for 2. In the 21st over which went for 13, McCann hit Taylor for three fours in four balls. Runs though then came at a trickle although Clarke in desperation ran down the pitch and hit Allison for six over extra cover in the 28th over. The sun had now disappeared and rest of the day was played in cloudy conditions. In the 33rd over, Clarke was dropped on 17 by Libby at second slip off Shahzad. Later in the same over McCann got his 50 off 92 balls with a two. Top scorer McCann (56 off 106 balls, 7x4) edged a widish delivery from Waite (New Road End) to keeper Roderick, 106 for 3 after 36 overs. Haynes (2) who had faced 21 balls was caught at second slip by Libby off Allison, 119 for 4 off 44 overs. At lunch, Notts were 121 for 4 off 46 overs with Clarke on 34 and Verreynne on 1. Notts had scored 75 off 30 overs in the session as they struggled timing the ball on a slow seamer with even slower outfield.

Clarke (34) was caught behind wafting a low delivery from Shahzad off the second ball after lunch, 121 for 5 in the 47th over. James (35 off 42 balls, 7x4) played the best and most fluent innings of the day adding 52 for the 6th wicket in 12 overs with Verreynne. Taylor then took two wickets in three balls in the 59th over. James was caught behind by Roderick and then Patterson-White lasted two balls being lbw for a duck, 173 for 7. In the 63rd over, Verreynne (26), with his bat well away from his body, was caught at second slip by Allison off Taylor, 184 for 8. Tongue and Pennington then added 23 for the 9th wicket. Pennington was dropped on 6 by Allison diving to his right at second slip off Shahzad in the 67th over. Pennington was lbw to Allison for 15; 207 for 9 for the 70th over. Four balls later, Tongue (15) was caught behind by Roderick (his fifth catch of the innings) off Waite, 207 all out off 70.2 overs. Abbas 0 not out. Worcestershire's all seam attack had bowled accurately on the helpful surface, with Taylor leading the way with 4 for 70. Notts, who led by 25 runs, had batted disappointingly and timidly at times. Tea was taken between the innings.

Abbas (Diglis End) and Pennington shared the new ball but the openers appeared to be in little trouble. Tongue replaced Abbas for the 7th over. Edvalath (9) a long way forward was lbw to Tongue, 26 for 1 in the 11th over. Abbas replaced Pennington from the New Road End in the following over. Abbas though went off injured with what looked like a back injury after chasing a ball round the boundary. The very next ball, Libby (25) was caught by McCann at second slip off a short ball from Tongue that shot up, 41 for 2 in the 15th over. James replaced the injured Abbas for the 16th over. The left handed Lategan (8) fell to a brilliant diving catch low to his left by McCann at second slip off James. The champagne moment of the day, 54 for 3 off 18 overs. Three overs later, Kashif (16) lost his off stump to a brilliant delivery from Tongue, 64 for 4 after 21 overs. Tongue (3 for 24) the pick of the Notts attack. D'Oliveira (6) was then bowled by James, 68 for 5 in the 24th over. With Worcestershire with a slender lead of 43 and the over rate on minus four and the light slowly fading, Patterson-White came on for the 25th over - the first time we had seen spin all day. McCann was brought on for the 28th over to make an all spin attack. The over rate was minus one when Pennington returned for the 35th over with Patterson-White switching ends. Bad light terminally stopped play at 1750 with Worcestershire 93 for 5 after 36 overs with Roderick and Brookes both on 14. They have so far added 25 in 12.4 overs. Thirteen overs had been lost.

Unfortunately the forecast for the last two days is poor. With Surrey well placed to beat Warwickshire at the Oval a Notts win here could prove pivotal. They will not fancy chasing more than 150 on a poor surface. The match is fascinatingly poised. MAG

SURREY WATCH

Surrey matched Notts' bowling bonus points haul and in their second innings have built a substanial lead of 179 runs with 9 wicket intact

Day 1

NOTTS MAINTAIN PRESSURE

A profitable New Road return for Pennington and Tongue

Only 68.5 overs were possible on the opening day of the championship fixture at New Road today. Notts, playing their first fixture for 15 days, closed 136 behind Worcestershire with nine first innings wickets still standing.

Notts won the toss and elected to bowl on a hybrid pitch. Tongue and Verreynne returned to the Eleven with Hutton and Harrison dropping out from the team that drew with Somerset five weeks ago.

Abbas (Diglis End) and Pennington shared the new ball. It took the Worcestershire openers 23 balls to get off the mark, Libby running a three off Pennington. Next ball,  Edvalath was caught behind off the thinnest of edges for a 12 ball duck off a lifting delivery from Pennington, 3 for 1 off 4 overs. The new ball pairing were proving to be a handful, but somehow Libby and Kashif managed to hang on.

Tongue replaced Abbas for the 11th over. In the following over Kashif Ali (15) was lbw to delivery from Pennington that jagged back in,  26 for 2. Tongue then took two wickets in two balls in the 15th over,  Libby (18) nicked him to Verreynne. D'Oliveira went first ball losing his off stump to Tongue, 37 for 4 after 15 overs. Three balls later, South African championship debutant, 19 year old Dan Lategan was leg before to Pennington for 4, 37 for 5. Roderick narrowly survived a lbw shout from Tongue's hat trick ball. Brookes went for a suicidal single off Pennington,  Hameed hitting the non strikers stumps via a direct hit from mid off, 53 for 6 after 18 overs. Roderick and Waite survived nine overs before the luncheon interval. Abbas replaced Pennington from the New Road End in the 20th over. James and Patterson-White came on for the 23rd and 24th overs. Waite took two boundaries off the last over before the interval. At lunch, Worcestershire were 80 for 6 after 27 overs with Roderick on 13 and WaIte on 16.

Waite  (18) was dismissed in the third over after lunch caught at short mid wicket by Clarke off a legside delivery from James who had replaced Patterson-White from the New Road End - a poor shot; 86 for 7 in the 30th over. With the ball getting older, batting was now considerably easier. Roderick and Taylor adding 71 for the 8th wicket in 17 overs. Pennington returned for the 36th over and bowled a four over spell before being replaced by Patterson-White. Abbas was replaced by Tongue and Taylor rode his luck in Tongue's second over of his new spell, edging him for four then top edging him off successive balls, 11 off the 41st over. Taylor (40) though skied a short ball from Tongue straight to Abbas at mid on, 157 for 8 in the 47th over. Very light rain stopped play at 1439 with Worcestershire 158 for 8 off 46.3 overs with Roderick on 43 Allison on 1. It stopped within seconds but the umpires surprisingly called tea with the sun shining brightly, 20 minutes play needlessly lost. Just as tea was completed dark clouds gathered and then came a bout of rain accompanied by thunder and lightning followed. Because lightning had struck and despite the rain stopping, the groundstaff could not remove the covers until 30 minutes had elapsed since the last lighting strike. More frustration! 

The sun was now beating down and remained shining for the rest of the day. Play resumed at 1705 with 25 overs left. Pennington's aim was true as he removed Allison leg before for 5, 162 for 9 off 48 overs. Roderick reached his 50 off 102 balls with two off Tongue in the 51st over as the last wicket added 20 runs. Later in the same over he hooked Pennington for six over long leg. Patterson-White came on for the 53rd over and with his fifth delivery he had Roderick (61)  lbw on the sweep. Worcestershire 182 all out off 52.5 overs. Former Pears bowlers Pennington 4 for 50 and Tongue 3 for 59 were the pick of the Notts bowling unit who had bowled well throughout.

Notts had 16 overs to bat. Hameed fell for a 2 ball duck having his bails trimmed by Taylor (Diglis End), 0 for 1. His new ball partner was Shahzad and the first half a dozen overs involved plenty of playing and missing. The two left handers Slater and McCann slowly found their rhythm,  Waite came on for the 11th over. McCann was dropped on 19 a difficult caught and bowled chance low down to Waite in his follow through in the 13th over. Next over Allison replaced Shahzad. Stumps were drawn at 1853 with Notts 46 for 1 off 16 overs with Slater on 23 and McCann on 19. 

The forecast tomorrow is good so an 104 over day is possible. The forecasts for Wednesday and Thursday are not so good.... MAG

SURREY WATCH 

Surrey missed out on all batting bonus points but have the 1 bowling point so far as Warwickshire close 114 behind but with 6 wickets intact.

SURREY WATCH

Surrey have 175 points, Notts have 166 before play on Day 1

Haseeb Hameed

Ben Slater

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Kyle Verreynne

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Josh Tongue

Brett Hutton

Farhan Ahmed

Dillon Pennington

Matt Montgomery

Mohammad Abbas

Farhan and Brett included in the squad at Lady Bay, also starting today.

Notts head coach Peter Moores added: "We're fortunate to have a number of seam bowlers to choose from for our next couple of games, and we want to make sure Olly has the best possible chance to get some miles back in the legs after some impressive spells in white-ball cricket so far this summer.

"A fit and firing Olly Stone is an asset for any side and we're sure he'll be well-served by this short spell at Middlesex."

So does not mean England have made Josh Tongue available for two games?

07/09

I like the highlighted innovation below

Rothesay County Championship

Monday 8th September – Thursday 11th September

Worcestershire CCC Vs Nottinghamshire CCC

 

• Gates Open: 09:30 | Day One Gates Open: 9:00
• Members Forum Day One: 9:30 | Graeme Hick Pavilion
• Wodr and Severn Suite Opening: 9:30
• Coin Toss: 10:00
• Match Commences: 10:30
• Lunch 12:30
• Restart after Lunch: 13:10
• Ladies Pavilion Opens: 14:30
• Scheduled Tea: 15:10
• Scheduled Restart after Tea: 15:30
• Scheduled Close of Play: 17:30

 

 

Additional Information

Tickets

Tickets booked in advance are £16 for Adults and free for Juniors aged 17 and under.

Admission on the day is £19 for Adults and free for Juniors aged 17 and under.

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

Bag Searches

Bags will be searched upon arrival at the ground.

You are allowed to bring food (for personal consumption) in a small bag which will be searched.

Dogs

Dogs are more than welcome at this fixture.

Reciprocal Arrangements

Hampshire, Somerset, Glamorgan, Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Essex members can attend for free.

Nottinghamshire members can visit for just £5 by purchasing a ticket at the main reception.

Car Parking

Parking will only be available online for this match.

Car parking can be booked 48 hours in advance for members and 24 hours for non-members via your online account.

You can find details of other car parks close to Visit Worcestershire New Road here.

WiFi

Free Wifi is available by connecting to _The Cloud

06/09

So as of Monday we enter the final block of Rothesay County Championship games and there is everything to play for. We could still, however unlikely as it is, win the Championship by the time Goose Fair is in full swing.

I doubt the bookmakers will have many sleepless nights of worry that Surrey will be overhauled now that they have their noses in front however, but more favourable weather following Notts around, whilst Surrey are stuck in pavilions would go a long way to closing that gap if Notts can find their early season form (from before the Kookaburra bore-draws). The match at the Oval will obviously go a long way to deciding the final destination of the trophy come September 27th. 

The weather in September 2025 will be a key player for every county I feel. 

This round we visit Worcestershire New Road the Atlantis of the West, where last season we were short changed! For the want of an hour or two more we would have wrapped up a comprehensive victory on soggy sponge of an outfield - remember the ground staff barbequing sods of turf to dry it out?

I was only driving through Worcestershire earlier this week where conditions weren't just wet, they were more akin to a monsoon. Some grounds have an earned reputation...

The players after more than a week off following the alleged "whirlwind" of the H*ndred and the what then should also be described as a breezy one day cup, ought to be welcoming back our two overseas players - Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Verreynne, to bolster the squad - obviously we await news on that from Pravda - probably 6 PM Sunday knowing their M.O. (see what I did there?)

Hosts, Metro Bank Cup Finalists Worcestershire sit bottom of the table but must be brimming with confidence following their August campaign, so are unlikely to be a pushover like in 2024 and Notts will have to be on their game.

Injuries, beyond those to Lord, Martindale and McCann? Has Pravda mentioned any injuries at all? Josh Tongue availability? Has Pravda said anything to suggest Josh could appear for Notts again in 2025? Speculate if you like because no news is just that, a lack of information being shared with their supporters by NCCC!