Match Details VS Durham
Rothesay County Championship Division One: Durham v Worcestershire
Venue: Banks Home Riverside Stadium
Date: Monday 15th September
Scheduled start time: 10:30am
In the Pears’ final away fixture of the Rothesay County Championship season, Worcestershire make the journey North to face Durham, who themselves are battling at the wrong end of Division One.
Looking to build on a positive performance that pushed high-flying Notts all the way in their previous outing, Alan Richardson’s side are hunting for a first away victory of the season.
Last Time Out
A monumental effort on the fourth morning of the game that saw Worcestershire’s bowlers take five wickets for just fifty runs could not prevent the home side from falling to a three wicket-defeat in a gripping contest against title-chasing Nottinghamshire.
Khurram Shahzad (1-14) showed his quality throughout the final day and was unfortunate to not be rewarded more than once, whilst Ben Allison (3-50) produced a superb spell early on that ignited the home side’s belief.
Matthew Waite and Tom Taylor claimed a wicket apiece to reduce the visitors to 114-7, but hopes of a famous final day victory were dashed as Notts reached the target with three wickets to spare.
The defeat keeps Worcestershire at the wrong end of the Rothesay County Championship Division One table, with attentions now turning to next week’s clash with Durham.
Inside The Camp
Worcestershire bowler Ben Allison is eager for his side to maintain their “positive intent” in their upcoming Rothesay County Championship clash with Durham this week, with the Pears bowler enjoying the return to red ball action
After pushing Notts all the way in a thrilling clash at New Road, Allison played a key role in a cohesive seam quartet that claimed 17 Outlaws wickets and came close to sealing a famous victory.
Allison, took six-wickets across the match, bowling with pace and accuracy throughout as he produced another standout performance, but says the positive mindset of the side has stood them in good stead as they prepare for an important week that sees the Pears travel to Durham, before changing formats as they head into the Metro Bank One Day Cup final next Saturday.
“All season we have been in matches for long periods and kept the positive intent to try and win games of cricket, doing it over four days against top sides is never an easy thing to do because you can lose one session or a small passage and suddenly the picture changes.
“We have kept fighting and stayed together and that is a massive part of what we pride ourselves on.
“The next game at Durham won’t be any different, it is another big game for us and we will look to start with the same energy and fight we had against Notts and hopefully put it all together to get a result.”
2025 has been another impressive campaign for the 25-year-old right-arm quick, who has showcased his talents across all three formats for Worcestershire.
Taking 58 wickets across both red and white ball competitions, Allison has registered 36 of his scalps in his side’s 12 Division One fixtures.
After making his first-class debut for Worcestershire in 2023, Allison says the environment around the squad has been the biggest contributing factor in his sustained success this season, that has seen him take his red-ball wickets at just over 27 apiece this summer.
“It is a really close squad with a good buzz, the boys always work for each other, whether that is in a team situation or our individual bowling and batting groups.
“Us bowlers have found a nice sort of cohesion recently and I think that shows with some of the performances by the lads, even if they haven’t necessarily translated into results, we have been in games all the time.
“I just try and keep a good rhythm and stick to what works for me, once you get into a good place you obviously want to stay there and keep challenging batters, even when you beat the bat or things maybe don’t quite go your way first up.
“We will keep grafting and I am looking forward to another chance to head up to Durham this week and try to contribute for the boys.”
The Opposition
Previous Championship result: Draw v Essex
Table position: 9th
One to watch: Ben McKinney
Enduring a similarly tough season to their opponents, Durham are also fighting for survival in Division One, having won just two matches in what has been a challenging 2025 campaign.
The side from the North East, led by county veteran Alex Lees, have plenty of talent at their disposal, with England stars Ben Stokes and Mark Wood touted to be involved for the County Championship run-in.
Fresh off a first-innings 121 in his side’s previous game against Essex, top-order batter Ben McKinney will be looking to continue what has been an eye-catching season for the 20-year-old.
2025 has been a breakthrough campaign for McKinney, with the former England U19 captain registering two first-class centuries, including a career-best 153 against Warwickshire earlier in the campaign.
Averaging a touch over 34 this season, Worcestershire will be looking to claim the wicket of the youngster early on in their pursuit of victory.
Squad vs Durham
