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Day 4
2.49 PM Match Abandoned as a draw
Day 3
Overnight rain, followed by further rain on and off during the day meant that after a series of inspections, play was eventually abandoned for the day after the 3:00 PM inspection.
Day 2
NOTTS DOMINATE AT NEW ROAD
After yesterday's frustrating and unexpected blank day, Notts made up for lost time by completely dominating the days play at New Road leading by 154 runs with seven first innings wickets standing after a bumper memorable day of cricket consisting of 104 overs.Spectators were greeted by warm sunshine and the sight of players practising when they entered the ground at 1000. After all the pessimism, play was to get away on time following a 1000 inspection. Notts won the toss and elected to field with Fletcher replacing the rested Stone and Clarke throwing the gauntlets back to Moores. Moores kept immaculately throughout the innings taking a memorable catch to dismiss Waite. Prior to the start, all players and spectators gave a minutes applause for the much loved Josh Baker, who tragically died aged 20 earlier this season. What a difficult start for the season for the Pears.
Fletcher (New Road End) and Pennington shared the new ball. It was apparent from the off that this was slow seamer with plenty of sideways movement. The outfield remained slow throughout particularly towards the distant Pavilion; the pitch being located on the hotel side of the square. Notts were very impressive with both the ball and in the field on the helpful pitch.
Libby and Roderick concentrated on defence, but in the fifth over, Libby edged Fletcher to Harrison at second slip who took an outstanding catch low to left in front of Clarke at first slip, 3 for 1. In the following over without further addition to the score, Pennington removed Pollock's middle stump with a well pitched up delivery. Fletcher picked up his second wicket when Roderick (2) edged him to Harrison at second slip, who took another catch diving to his left in front of Clarke, 16 for 3 in the 11th over. Lyndon James replaced Pennington from the Diglis End in the 14th over. Moores took a comfortable catch behind the wicket off Fletcher with top scorer Jones (19) the batsman dismissed; 29 for 4 in the 15th over. James took a wicket with his ninth ball having D'Oliveira lbw for 2, 34 for 5 in the 16th over. After taking 3 for 18 off 9 overs in his only spell the metronomic Fletcher made way for Paterson. Fletcher making full use of conditions tailored made for him.
Waite (16) hit consecutive boundaries off Paterson in the 20th over. Then, Moores leaping like a salmon to his left took a spectacular catch to remove Waite (16) off a legside delivery from James, 57 for 6 in the 22nd over. Pennington returned for James for the 24th over. Adam Hose (11) skied Pennington and the bowler took the return catch at the second attempt, 61 for 7 in the 24th over. In the following over Smith was leg before to Paterson for 1, 61 for 8. Leach (3) drove Paterson straight to Slater at point, 66 for 9 after 27 overs. Lunch was delayed when Finch pulled Pennington for 6 over square leg. Finch (9) got a thin edge to Pennington and Moores took the catch diving to his right. Worcestershire 80 all out off 31.1 overs, Gibbon 5 not out. Lunch was taken between the innings. Pennington 3 for 25 and two wickets apiece for Paterson and James. What a morning for Notts in the New Road sunshine.
Worcestershire could not match Notts either with the ball or in the field as Notts dominated throughout. Leach (Diglis End) and Smith shared the new ball with Hameed and Slater standing firm. Slater hit Leach for successive fours in the fifth over. Waite and Finch came on for the 11th and 12th overs respectively. Notts reached 50 via a legside two by Hameed off Waite in the 17th over. Finch conceded 10 in the 18th over with boundaries for both openers.
Worcestershire made a double bowling change for the 20th and 21st overs with Gibbon and Smith bowling. In the 25th over, Worcestershire finally made a breakthrough when a hooking Slater (41) was caught by Gibbon at long leg off Smith, 77 for 1. Notts took the lead in the 26th over with Hameed leg glancing Gibbon to the fine leg boundary. In his following over, Smith had Young (2) playing on, 85 for 2 in the 27th over. In the last over before tea, Clarke was dropped on 0, a sitter to keeper Roderick off Smith, a very expensive drop. Notts 89 for 2 off 29 overs at the interval with Hameed on 36 and Clarke on 2.
Notts added a further 145 in the final session of 43 overs played in glorious sunshine. Straight after tea, Hameed was dropped on 36 by Pollock at first slip off the returning Finch in the 30th over. Leach returned for the following over. Notts got to three figures via a no ball by Leach in the 33rd over. A cover driven four by Hameed off Finch saw him to 50 off 110 balls. Clarke was dropped once more on 3 by Libby at point off Finch. Hameed and Clarke concentrated on steady accumulation with D'Oliveira shuffling his pack. Spin was introduced in the 54th over, when the captain brought himself on from the New Road End. Clarke got to his 50 off 86 balls with a single off D'Oliveira in the 60th over. Notts reached 200 in the 63rd over. Clarke was dropped for a third time on 70 by keeper Roderick, inside edging Gibbon in the 67th over. An offside single for Hameed off Leach saw him to his ton off 214 deliveries. Worcestershire finally picked up a point in the 69th over when Hameed's fine captains knock ended when he was adjudged lbw to Waite for 100 off 219 balls (9x4), 232 for 3. Libby came on with three overs remaining. With the cathedral bells tolling seven o'clock at this iconic venue stumps were drawn with Notts on 234 for 3 off 72 overs with Clarke on 73 and nightwatchman Fletcher on 1. A one sided day totally in Notts favour played in magnificent sunshine.
Unfortunately heavy rain followed by showers approach from the west and any play tomorrow would be considered a bonus. Will New Road be able to take the deluge? A much better forecast is promised for Monday. MAG
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Hopefully the digging-up of huge turves and "cooking" them with diesel powered heater has had some beneficial result - but it's not a good look for a first class county HQ. Time will tell if WCCC were being too optimistic in bringing cricket back to their main ground after the repeated flooding over the closed season quite so soon, or not.
Posted by WCCC at 6.30AM
Ground staff at Visit Worcestershire New Road have worked tirelessly through the night to address the issues that prevented play on Day One of Worcestershire's Vitality County Championship match against Nottinghamshire. The Club are awaiting further inspections from the umpires this morning and will provide updates as soon as their decisions are made. The Club apologises for any inconvenience caused to spectators and reassures everyone that we are doing everything possible to restore the playing areas to a condition that meets the umpires' standards as quickly as possible.
Day 1
After a 1 PM inspection, the umpires abandoned play for the day at 1.30 PM.
Have a read of the Grumbler's latest newsletter while we're waiting.
Will Peter accommodate both Liam and Calvin at the expense of Tom? Liam scored just 71 runs over 4 innings (not out once) for Northants and took 9 wickets. Over those two rounds of matches Tom scored 22 (3 innings) for Notts batting at 5.
With news that there will be no play before lunch owing to "concerns over the playing surface" - Pravda
Pears media says there's "a few damp spots on the outfield", which isn't the playing surface in my book,but hey-ho we better play an extra spin option or do we need another seamer or at least Fletch in the XI as it might suit him. One thing is for sure, we should have someone batting at 5 that scores runs.
Squad:
Haseeb HameedBen Slater
Will Young
Joe Clarke
Tom Moores
Jack Haynes
Lyndon James
Calvin Harrison
Olly Stone
Dillon Pennington
Dane Paterson
Liam Patterson-White
Luke Fletcher
Worcestershire have issues...
In another black armband game, Notts need to made quality tell and not get swept away in the torrent of emotion surrounding this fixture.
The T20 Blast is only a week away, so will certain key components of that side be rested or is the policy to keep playing the likes of Stone and Pennington until you break one or both of them? Where do the Mr Moores' priorities lie for Notts?
Good to see Liam back in the squad - also Tumbling Tom now a specialist batsman at no5 plays(?) as no General Monty recall in the somewhat limited options with the Notts squad, or we go in a different direction for this encounter ?
ReplyDeleteFabulous game last night with the Blaze winning in a tense 😬 finish over the Northern Diamonds 💎- brilliant reverse 🔄 sweep 🧹 by the lovely Marie Kelly but then she very unluckily misjudged one but as we all know - that’s cricket 🏏
Nuts 🥜 the squirrel 🐿 was looking superb in his Blaze replica shirt
What’s to be done about this New Rd situation ? - it’s 2024 not 1950
ReplyDeleteRidiculous situation with the rain that was
ReplyDeleteForecasted & the state of the outfield at Worcester, it should have been played at Kidderminster what a farce
Not sure Worcestershire could have played at Kidderminster. quick look at Kidderminster CC fixtures says they have a home game tomorrow.
DeleteThey've played home games at Edgbaston in the recent past, so there's an, unsatisfactory, solution.
DeleteNot that that would have helped in this round owing to the T20 Interrnatinal.
DeleteIt's all down to global cooling
ReplyDeleteCounty is being renamed as Floodstershire
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteYou have got to frel sympathy for the long suffering Worcestershire Members. How much cricket have they actually seen this season what with all the problems?
A brand new ground may actually be the only answer - long term .
But the cost will be stratospheric . Where will the money come from ? They are not a rich club . A one- off gift from the ECB on top of sm interest free loan ?
Who ever won the toss would dominate this match from the start
ReplyDeleteThe pitch damp plenty of movement for the seamers let see if Notts can take advantage when they bat
Ultimatum to Worcestershire - you’ve got 5 years to relocate to a new ground or you lose your first class status - completely unacceptable in 2024 that rain ☔️ on the Wednesday prevents any play on the Friday . Sentiment should no longer come into the equation- completely unfair on the players and both home 🏡 and visiting supporters. Its not the dark ages anymore and it’s bad enough copping a day of rain ☔️ that none of us can do anything about, but rain ☔️ 2 days before should just not be an issue in this modern era
ReplyDeleteIf finances are the problem then they’ll just have to ground share with Kidderminster, Edgbaston and other possibilities on the table
Having to play t20 games at 530 due to planning permissions regarding floodlights being installed just shouldn’t be an issue in modern era sport in my opinion and this issue also needs resolving somehow - I’m prepping for a load of flak now - this is just my opinion based on the world 🌎 we now live in, in 2024
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteYou have to feel for todays travelling supporters who have wasted a day at Worcester. Its becoming a farcial situation there . The home supporters must be up in arms and the Worcestershire Membership will no doubt nosedive .its a terrible shame but SOMETHING has to be done and painful decidions taken .
They have had a terrible winter in Worcester, but surely this match should have been played elsewhere, when they knew the ground was still waterlogged. There are plenty of places between Worcester and Nottingham. With the heavy showers forecast tomorrow, there may not be any more play.
ReplyDeleteNo one can blame WCCC for the weather, however you can blame them for being too optimistic/ wishful thinking. Realistically has the New Road ground drained enough since its latest flood to be able to withstand a bit of rain without becoming waterlogged, as happened on Wednesday. Clearly the answer is no as it took 2 days and a lot of drastic measures by the ground staff just to get play on Saturday. More rain last night and today has perhaps taken the situation back to where it was on Friday again, with dubious prospects of play again tomorrow(?) Should WCCC have taken the game to another venue, arranged well in advance of this week in stead of just crossing fingers and hoping that it didn't rain for a week in the lead-up to the match?
ReplyDelete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteJust imagine if the River Trent had rising water levels and Notts ccc TB ground kept getting flooded! Sometimes by several times during winter and early Spring . Then the ECB stated the venue was becoming too risky to ensure big important games took place . And that Notts had to vacate TB and move permanently to another site . Imagine how we would all feel .
Very sad and bewildered - just like the Worcestershire Members are feeling now no doubt?! .
Substitute the word flood with the concept of Franchise cricket / The H*ndred forcing Notts out of its own ground - yes it's very sad and it is very real and it has been for 4 years now. Notts are forced to play home matches in April and September and not in July and August, whereas play will be possible in July and August at New Road. The only difference is that Notts' problems are man-made and Worcester's are environmental. WCCC will have to find alternative arrangements for the spring months as a matter of routine now and in the future and to stop relying on hope to get them through whilst residing in a floodplain.
DeleteWell done to The Blaze beating Lancashire Thunder, so that’s 3 from 3 now in the Charlotte Edwards Cup - the next big game is against Central Sparks ⚡️ this Friday
ReplyDeleteBeing one of the unfortunates who traveled to Worcester on Friday morning, reassured by a photo on the Worcester Twitter feed of a sun drenched ground the night before my main gripe is the lack of communication about the state of the ground. They must have known it would never be fit. However as I walked away from the ground I reflected that this situation arises every year and yet I can see no sign of flood defences from the council or spend from the club on improved drainage. The cricket ground is iconic and attracts a number of visitors in the summer and so the authorities have to decide quickly whether they want to stay or go.if stay then some kind of partnership with the local and national authorities to make the improvements. Also whilst I’m on the subject that Premier Inn is an eyesore.
ReplyDeleteFeel sorry for those WCCC members that gave their time and efforts gladdly to clean-up and make the place habitable again - have they been duped by their own club?
DeleteIsn't the cricket ground part of the City's natural flood defences, part of the flood plain along with the The Pitchcroft racecourse, Cripplegate Park, Chapter Meadow, Diglis and the battlefield site. I guess Worcester city does flood occasionally but not to the regularity of say aye, York does!
DeleteFeel for you Spirit of Yorkie - we’ve all been there many times down the years
ReplyDeleteThis Worcestershire situation seems somewhat worse though to me and would suggest the ECB(Exterminating Cricket 🏏 Board) need to look into this particular match being played at New Rd which has turned into more of a farce than a Brian Rix theatre 🎭 production
Although it must even out over the course of an entire season, we are also in such a strong position leading by 154 with 7 men left in the Hutt it was just what we needed to bounce back after defeat to Hampshire last Monday, so it’s particularly frustrating from a potential Notts victory aspect
Desperately hope there’s a couple of hours play today for anyone who is still there - they deserve something at the very least
80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteNOTTS 11 pts
WORC 9 pts
Seems a trifle lop sided considering the state of the game !?
Stats say its been the worst Spring weather for 200 years .
Caption: Mum says I keep wicket or you're sleeping in the spare room again
ReplyDeleteDad to son, no you can't keep wicket
ReplyDeleteI like sleeping in the spare room
These days good try son
Mum always gets her way, you know that Dad!
Delete80 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteYOU GOTTA MOVE WITH THE TIMES DAD! Colin Cowdrey , Fred Trueman and Jim Laker and Co would have given their right arm to play in gear like this !
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ReplyDeleteThose words were too fruity, please try again.
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