A chastening third day of their Rothesay County Championship clash saw Worcestershire surrender a strong position against Durham as the Pears were subjected to a nine-wicket defeat
Ethan Brookes (2-10) took two wickets to help the home side take a 40-run lead into their second innings, but the Pears’ endured a sobering afternoon with the bat.
From 53-0, the hosts were bowled out for 102, as a Callum Parkinson fifer ripped through the Worcestershire line-up.
Defending 143, Tom Taylor made an early breakthrough but Ben McKinney (87*) and Emilio Gay (51*) powered the visitors to victory, with the home side leaving with five points.
The September-Esque cloud cover at least gave the home side some extra incentive at the start of the third day’s play, with Alan Richardson’s side keen to pick up where they left off from the evening prior, after a profitable evening session had seen Durham close 207-6.
The morning was just 20 minutes old when the effervescent Tom Taylor opened Worcestershire’s account for the day, when the seamer drew Ollie Robinson into a prod outside off-stump, with Jake Libby taking an excellent catch at Gully.
Aside from the early blemish, Graham Clark continued his excellent knock from number six, as the middle-order batter picked off some loose deliveries through the offside as he moved through the 70’s.
Kasey Aldridge added a plucky 13, but when Matthew Waite produced a near-unplayable ball to the right-hander, which he could only edge behind, the match’s momentum edged back in Worcestershire’s favour, with Durham 254-8.
Ethan Brookes (2-10) needed just two overs to complete what had been a prosperous morning for the home side, as he ended Clark’s impressive innings on 78, before Ben Raine followed soon after for 13.
Clark could only pull a long hop straight to the grateful hands of Dan Lategan at midwicket, as Brookes celebrated the key breakthrough in fortuitous fashion.
Ben Raine was the final casualty for the away side, when he whipped a ball into the deep on the legside, unsuccessful in his attempt to clear the boundary, as Harry Darley took a composed catch at deep square-leg with Worcestershire completing a fine morning’s work with the ball to dismiss Durham for 268.
Having acquired a handy 40-run lead, Jake Libby and Dan Lategan headed to the middle in overcast conditions, with Libby riding his luck in the early forays as Ben Stokes found his edge twice without any avail.
Navigating a difficult 10-over period before lunch, Worcestershire’s openers ensured they underlined an excellent session by reaching the interval 33-0.
Upon resumption, the established opening partnership enjoyed yet more success, with Libby easing the ball through the off side, whilst the ever-assertive Lategan crunched two powerful drives in successive balls of the 13th over, shortly before the home side passed fifty.
As the sun began to peak through the clouds, two wickets in back-to-back overs threatened to derail the Pears’ progress.
Jake Libby saw his defences beaten on 28 when Aldridge got one to clip his off stump, before Raine returned from the Diglis End to stop Lategan (20) in his tracks when David Bedingham took a sharp catch at gully, with Durham sensing an opportunity at 55-2.
A scarcely believable 11-over period saw Durham tighten their grip on the contest, as a middle-order scare saw the home side stumble to 80-6.
Two overs later and a third wicket fell, when Kashif Ali looked to work the ball into the leg side, and his miscue offered the easiest of catches to Raine at mid-on, as the tide began to turn once more.
Worcestershire lost their fourth wicket for just seven runs when Callum Parkinson entered the attack and claimed the wicket of Adam Hose for three with his first delivery, as the Pears’ previously healthy position began to weaken.
Leading by 100, skipper Brett D’Oliveira made his way to the middle, but the Pears’ talisman was unable to recreate his first-innings heroics as he too fell caught and bowled to the spinner Parkinson, as the home side found themselves in a real quandary at 72-5.
The middle-order woes worsened for the New Road outfit when Ethan Brookes edged to Aldridge at slip, and the Division Two leaders were only 130 runs behind by the time Parkinson helped himself to a fourth wicket, when Matthew Waite saw a full ball cannon into his off-stump as the Pears slumped to 90-7.
England Captain Ben Stokes returned to the attack and needed just two balls to make his presence felt when Tom Taylor was pinned LBW, and when Roderick (15) top-edged an attempted sweep to hand Parkinson his eighth career-fifer, the Pears were on the ropes.
The first-innings heroes added 11 for the final wicket before Harry Darley was dismissed by Stokes as Durham’s blitz had seen the home side bowled out for 102 in just over a session.
Defending 142 to claim what would be a remarkable victory, Tom Taylor made the perfect start to the Pears’ final innings as he trapped Alex Lees LBW for four with the third ball of the reply.
Emilio Gay did his England chances no harm with a composed 51 not-out, as Brett D’Oliveira rotated his bowlers in search of some late Durham wickets.
It was a dismissive Ben McKinney knock of 87* that broke the back of the chase with the left-hander racing to fifty from just 44 balls, plundering 13 boundaries in the process to hand the visitors an emphatic nine wicket victory.
