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NCL1 - Bears safe

Wednesday, September 10 2003

Warwickshire v Worcestershire, Edgbaston, NCL Division 1, 9 September

With Worcestershire already doomed to Second Division cricket in the competition next season and Warwickshire not at all secure of their own position, there was still more than local bragging rights at stake in this West Midlands local Derby, the last game to be played at Edgbaston this season before the bulldozers move in.

Warwickshire won the toss and elected to bat, sending out Nick Knight and the hard-hitting Neil Carter to face Matt Mason and Kabir Ali on what looked to be a hard, fast track (with a wasp embedded in the surface, according to David Lloyd).

Carter started by creaming Kabir Ali all over the field, first pulling over midwicket then crunching three drives through cover with his decidedly 'stand and deliver' style. Knight, meanwhile, was altogether more watchful, looking to give his more belligerent partner the lion's share of the strike. It soon became apparent that the wicket seemed to be a little two-paced with only the occasional delivery flying through when the seam bowlers bent their backs.

Mason dropped only slightly short and Carter deposited the ball over the ropes at fine leg as Warwickshire raced along at almost 8 runs per over. Knight, too, freed his arms and cracked a wide half-volley from Kabir Ali to the cover boundary before whipping the next delivery through midwicket for three as the Bears continued to prosper. Ali, to his credit struck next ball with the total on 38 as Carter dragged one from outside off stump on to his wicket for 26 bringing Mark Wagh to the crease.

For the next 20 overs, Knight and Wagh sedately went on their way without taking any unnecessary risks, Knight playing the principal attacking role. Wagh was put down at cover, an exceedingly difficult chance to Leatherdale before Knight pushed a ball from Wigley to mid on for a well-constructed half-century.

David Leatherdale made amends for his drop and in the process threatened to derail the Warwickshire innings in his first over, clean bowling Wagh round his legs before removing Ian Bell leg before first ball to reduce the home side to 117-3, but Knight and new partner Jonathan Trott wrested the initiative with a run-a-ball partnership of 124 for the fourth wicket.

In the process, Knight went to a thoroughly composed century before cutting loose in the last few overs. Knight hit 122 in all, smacking 15 boundaries and a fine six over long on before being run out in the final over, losing the ball under his feet and scampering off down the wicket. Warwickshire ended on 244-4 with Trott undefeated on 51 when a total of 220 would have been a more reasonable expectation given the slight unevenness in the way the occasional ball came through. To add insult to injury, Worcestershire were penalised six runs for a tawdry over rate, taking the Warwickshire total to 250.

Worcestershire's reply got under way with Kabir Ali being promoted to opener and partnering Stephen Peters as they faced up to Waqar Younis and Neil Carter as they set off in pursuit of the revised victory target of 251. Peters struck a couple of powerful boundaries off the first two overs before he was bowled neck and crop by a Carter inswinging yorker for just 11 with the total on 18.

Anurag Singh swatted Waqar through midwicket for successive boundaries and looked in excellent touch. Kabir Ali, meanwhile, huffed and puffed without much effect as the wicket if anything seemed to speed up a little. Ali did strike one fine boundary but went for one shot too many against Corey Collymore, lofting the ball to Mike Powell at mid on who took a fine tumbling catch.

Graeme Hick made his appearance in the middle and was given the most awful trouble in playing out a testing maiden by Alan Richardson before pushing a single to cover in the following over, much to his relief. Anurag Singh poked the ball down to third man and set off for what looked to be an easy two, but the superb throw from Richardson hit the wicket on the full to leave Singh (36) a yard shy of his ground as the third Worcestershire wicket fell with the total on 67.

Hick should have departed for just 4 when he fell headlong in the middle of the pitch only for the throw from the cover boundary to go to the wrong end where it was fumbled by Collymore. Richardson, meanwhile, was in the middle of a superb economical spell, going for just 3 runs in his first 4 overs with both Hick and Justin Kemp barely able to lay bat on ball.

As desperation set in, Hick lofted Collymore over cover for a brace but chopped the next delivery on to his stumps to depart for a decidedly scratchy 8 from 30 balls to leave Worcestershire in dire straits on 80-4. Ben Smith and Kemp, took the score beyond 100 but both were finding scoring increasingly difficult in the face of some accurate seam bowling as the night drew on.

The introduction of the spin of Mark Wagh gave Smith the opportunity to open his shoulders and two lofted drives for four over the bowler's head added some impetus to the run chase. Richardson finally got the reward his accuracy deserved when Smith (27) tried to loft him over mid on but once again Mike Powell took an excellent catch high above his head as Worcestershire's fifth wicket fell with the total on 118.

As light rain started to fall and messrs Duckworth and Lewis began to take an interest in proceedings, Kemp and Leatherdale started to throw the bat with some gusto, plundering 15 from a single Waqar over to take the score beyond 150. Corey Collymore returned and promptly dismissed David Leatherdale for a run-a-ball 21 to leave Worcestershire with a mountain to climb on 165-6 with just 10 overs to go.

It was all academic a few balls later as the English summer signed off with a vengeance and the ground staff were left to rush the covers on in mid-deluge. For Worcestershire, the outcome made no difference but Warwickshire ensured their survival in Division 1. Conversely, the Bears could still finish as high as third in the table.

Warwickshire 250-4 (Knight 122, Leatherdale 2-43)
beat
Worcestershire 173-6 (Singh 36, Collymore 3-26)
by 18 runs under Duckworth/Lewis rule


Posted by Eddie