Worcestershire fought back strongly after a difficult morning on the first day of their Rothesay County Championship Division One clash with Durham at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
In a day where 14 wickets fell, Brett D’Oliveira’s side showed great resilience with the ball to leave the match finely balanced, as Durham closed on 55 for four in reply to Worcestershire’s 162.
After being put in to bat on a pitch offering assistance to the bowlers, Worcestershire endured a tough start, slipping to 22 for three inside the first hour. Jake Ball, on loan to Durham from Somerset, made an immediate impact, claiming all three early wickets in the space of just 12 deliveries, Gareth Roderick (4), Jake Libby (9) and Rob Jones (3) all caught behind by Ollie Robinson.
There was almost further trouble when Henry Nicholls edged Ball only for the chance to be spilled at third slip. Nicholls (42 from 155 balls) and Adam Hose (23) steadied the ship either side of the lunch interval, but wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.
After Hose was trapped lbw by Ben Raine, Nicholls and Mathew Waite were both dismissed by another Durham debutant, Codi Yusuf, while D’Oliveira’s battling 28 was ended by Raine shortly afterwards. Late wickets saw Tom Taylor (lbw to George Drissell), Ethan Brookes, caught at long leg off Ball for 23, and Jake Duffy, caught at slip, fall in quick succession as Worcestershire were bowled out just before tea.
Despite the setback, Worcestershire’s bowlers responded brilliantly. Jacob Duffy struck early, bowling Alex Lees for nought, before Tom Taylor produced a sharp delivery to remove Ben McKinney for 24. Matthew Waite continued the momentum, bowling Colin Ackermann for five and then trapping Ollie Robinson lbw for a duck.
At the close, Durham were still 107 runs behind with six wickets remaining. Will Rhodes (17*) and nightwatchman Jack Blatherwick (2*) will resume on day two, but Worcestershire will be encouraged by their spirited bowling display after a challenging start.
