Worcestershire Captain Brett D’Oliveira praised his side’s persistent endeavor on day one of their Rothesay County Championship clash with Durham, as the Pears dug in to keep themselves firmly in a tight contest.
Playing a pivotal part in a 97-run stand with Adam Hose, the pair helped guide their side out of a troubling position at 52-4, with Worcestershire’s experienced middle order duo showing their class through a testing afternoon at New Road.
Ending the day 209-7, D’Oliveira’s gusty 41 saw him occupy the crease with half-century maker Hose for in excess of 30 overs.
D’Oliveira said the score at stumps reflected a tough day’s cricket.
“It felt like a challenging day all day. It felt like a bowling day, but I thought we scrapped really well, and to end the day 209-7 is a fair reflection of the day.
“We always want a little bit more and people to go on and get more, but with the pitch doing a bit more than last time out, that is a good effort.
“The weather is a challenge and can be frustrating. It felt like we (Brett and Adam Hose) had a bit of momentum going, but that is the challenge and the game of cricket.
“We need to react to that, and if we had gotten those deliveries that got us out before the break, then who knows, we may have played them a bit differently.”
With all the headlines surrounding the return to County Cricket for England Captain Ben Stokes, Worcestershire were more than aware of the threats that lay across the breadth of the Durham bowling attack.
At the top of Division Two heading into the weekend’s action, Ben Raine, Luke Robinson, and Kasey Aldridge all helped themselves to wickets on the opening day at New Road, whilst Stokes returned figures of 2-40 in an impressive comeback.
Proud of the way his side fought against the Durham seam quartet, D’Oliveira said his partnership with Hose couldn’t help but be affected by the poor timing of the rain delays, with both set batters losing their wickets in unfortunate circumstances within an over of the resumption.
“It is nothing more than you would expect from either of those guys. Ben Stokes is a world-class performer, and Raine has been around for long enough that we know what to expect from him.
“It was nice to keep that momentum going with Hosey when we could, and it felt like we had a bit going when we came off, which was a bit frustrating.
“I thought we scrapped really hard and are at a total we can work with as it stands.”
