Worcestershire Head Coach Alan Richardson praised his team’s ability to navigate their way through some “ups and downs” as a fifth wicket stand of 97 between Bret D’Oliveira and Matthew Waite steered Worcestershire to a draw on the final day of Rothesay County Championship action against Lancashire.
After making a comeback to post 270 on the opening day, rain ruled out any chance of play on day two, before further interruptions on the third day meant the sides headed into Monday knowing a draw was the most likely outcome, with time in the match running out.
At 90-4, the Pears wobbled as Lancashire looked to pounce and make serious inroads in the Worcestershire batting card, but a resilient and mature partnership between D’Oliveira (46*) and Waite (47*) guided the visitors to safety.
Richardson was impressed by the way the middle-order duo went about their business, securing 11 points as the sides shook hands shortly before 5pm.
“This morning, we were in a position where we could have lost the game if we didn’t bat well. That’s happened to us recently, so we’ll definitely take the draw.
“We had some real ups and downs, but Brett and Matthew showed their experience and composure.
“It was important to stay calm this afternoon. The art of batting doesn’t change, but noise can always bring challenges, and those two simply went about their business.
“I think we put ourselves in some good positions in this game, and it took a fine innings from Paul Coughlin to take it away from us a little bit. It would have been nice to have seen where that game would have gone had we played all four days.”
It was another topsy-turvy match for Worcestershire’s batting contingent, with Waite coming to the rescue in the first innings with a vital 77, after the batters above him lost their wickets in quick succession.
Whilst Waite and D’Oliveira showed poise to carry their side home, it was another impressive outing for teenage opener Dan Lategan, who made scores of 53 and 48 in either innings to extend his excellent start to life at the top of the order for the Pears.
Playing in just his ninth first-class match, the 19-year-old left-hander once again established himself as a cornerstone of the Worcestershire line-up with mature displays in both innings.
Richardson says despite the fact that a maiden century still proves elusive, the ceiling is sky high for the talented youngster.
“Dan hasn’t played much multi-day cricket in his career. He played a lot of one-day cricket at school, in South Africa, and at the start of his time here, so it is a learning curve, and he is very much learning on the job.
“At the start of his career, he has faced some top-class bowling, none more so than Jimmy Anderson, who is still a world-class operator.
“It is just riding the waves that come with red ball cricket a bit at times, to face Jimmy and play as well as he did is something he should be really proud of.
“He will learn how to go up and down through the gears, but I am sure when that clicks, in time, he will start to evolve his game, and it will fall into place.”
