England great, Sir Alastair Cook, was full of praise for how the Worcestershire bowlers stuck to their task on a slow pitch on day one of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Essex at New Road.
Alzarri Joseph picked up the two wickets to fall, including Cook, who struck 115 out of Essex’s 266-2 from 96 overs.
But Essex were made to work hard for their runs on a pitch, offering little assistance to the seamers.
Cook said: “I thought the Worcestershire bowlers bowled really well. They are a skilful set of bowlers.
“They all knew what their jobs were. There was very little in the pitch for the seam bowlers.
“Alzarri Joseph applied himself well in conditions that were as foreign to him as any he could imagine.
“He put in a really good shift and picked up two wickets, and it was hard work all day.”
Worcestershire Bowling Coach, Alan Richardson, echoed Cook’s comments and said: “I thought the boys stuck at it really well. It again looked like a fairly attritional wicket which is what we had last week against Nottinghamshire.
“I think we tired a little bit towards the end, and Sir Alastair Cook played very well and showed a lot of discipline and has made us have another day in the dirt (field).
“You missed some difficult chances? On wickets like this, you hope those stick. No one does it on purpose, and it was nice to create those chances, but it would have been even better to have taken them.
“We have to come back tomorrow and hope we create some more chances with the second new ball and be able to chip away.
“The boys said it was similar to the Notts wicket, except there was a bit more movement there. It was slow again, so you had to be really disciplined with bat and ball. Strokeplay was quite difficult as well.”
