Alex Gidman was full of praise for Worcestershire batting hero Ed Pollock after his “amazing” century helped clinch a “massive” win over Middlesex in the battle for promotion from Division Two of the LV=Insurance County Championship.
Pollock smashed a career-best red ball score of 113 off just 76 balls with seven sixes as Worcestershire raced to a seven-wicket win in pursuit of a 238 target on a difficult pitch.
The victory lifted Worcestershire to within 11 points of second-placed Middlesex with five games remaining, including the returning meeting at New Road in September.
Head Coach Gidman said: “It is a massive win in terms of the Championship. We have played some outstanding cricket throughout, come close to winning on a couple of occasions and have consistently performed really well, either fighting for draws or trying to get ourselves into positions to win games.
“But to get into another position to win, and get over the line, is massive, and it keeps us well and truly in the hunt, which is what we are after.
“Ed is a unique cricketer, and there are some amazing innings he is capable of. On a wicket like that, in the situation we were in, that was a massive innings, and he was very hard to bowl to.
“I felt for Tim (Murtagh) out there as the opposing captain. It is not easy to manage, and Ed took the game away from them very quickly.
“That hour after lunch was remarkable and pretty brutal batting, and that is what Ed is capable of, and he had a massive input into the win.”
Gidman added: “Was 238 a difficult target? I think it was, but Ed played an exceptional innings and helped us to get ahead of the game.
“For us to be 100-1 was a great effort, and if someone had offered that position before the start, I would have bitten their hand off.
“I thought we pressurised them really well, ran hard between the wickets and defended well and looked to capitalise on anything loose.
“We batted with real smart intent and purpose, and Ed was at the forefront of that and set the momentum for the rest of the innings.”
