As stumps were drawn on the final day at Taunton, there were no wild celebrations, no leaping in the air, just tired handshakes, deep exhalations, and quiet pride. After spending much of the match under severe pressure, Worcestershire had battled through a relentless final day to earn a draw that felt, in many ways, like a statement of character.
At the centre of it all was Matthew Waite, composed, concentrated, and quietly immovable. His mammoth innings wasn’t just a study in technique; it was an exercise in mental endurance and belief.
“I guess I had quite a lot of belief in myself, I don’t know where it came from,” Waite says with a modest smile. “I just thought, I’m going to do it. I’ll bat all day if I have to.”
What followed was a performance that exemplified grit. Alongside captain Brett D’Oliveira and the lower order, Waite defied a skilled bowling unit session after session, his calmness under pressure infectious to all around him.
“We got into a good rhythm,” he reflects. “Time actually went quite quickly. We just kept telling ourselves: concentrate every ball, watch the ball. Simple things. But when you commit to them fully, they work.”
The pitch may have settled, but the quality and variety of the opposition bowling, from left-arm spin to sharp bouncers and fresh-ball bursts, posed plenty of questions. Waite had the answers, and they weren’t found in a textbook.
“They tried everything,” he says. “They had a left-arm spinner, an off-spinner, the new ball, short-ball plans… but I’ve had those experiences before. That’s what I relied on. I knew how to respond because I’ve faced those challenges before.”
One striking element of Waite’s approach was how he tailored his setup to different bowlers, an insight into his growing maturity at the crease. “You learn how to adjust,” he adds. “I’ve changed my stance slightly over the last year or two, and you just pick things up the more you play. Sometimes it’s not about technique, it’s just about knowing what you’re trying to do and backing yourself to do it.”
That clarity of thought shone through in the partnerships built throughout the day, not just with D’Oliveira, but with each batter who came in and applied themselves. As wickets occasionally fell, Waite remained a constant. Unflappable.
“We spoke about it at lunch,” he explains. “I told the lads, ‘This is achievable. Just believe and get stuck in.’ And that’s what everyone did. I think it showed the character we’ve got as a group.”
Togetherness is a recurring theme in Waite’s reflections, not just a buzzword, but a genuine bond that underpins this Worcestershire team. “We’ve spoken about it a lot over the last year,” he says. “Even when the first couple of days were tough, there was no panic. We knew we could stick together and fight it out. That’s one of our big strengths.”
For Waite personally, the messages and praise began to pour in almost immediately after the game. “My phone blew up,” he laughs. “I’ve still got loads to reply to today. But it’s been nice, hearing from family, teammates, people from back home. You realise how many people are watching and supporting.”
And how does a player mark a day like that? No champagne or ceremony. “We had a couple of drinks together as a squad,” Waite says. “Then me and Rob Jones grabbed a McDonald’s on the way home. And then I just slept, really.”
If anything summed up the understated, unfussy nature of the man, it was that.
In a match where flamboyance gave way to fight, and technique bowed to tenacity, Matthew Waite stood tall, not with headlines or heroics, but with heart. His innings won’t go in the record books for its speed or its style, but it will live long in the memory of those who understand what it truly means to dig in for your team.
Because sometimes, the most powerful innings are the ones that simply refuse to end.
