Worcestershire suffered a six-wicket defeat to Durham inside two days in a bowler-dominated Rothesay County Championship fixture at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
In a match where batters on both sides found life extremely difficult on a lively surface, the bowlers took centre stage, with 30 wickets falling across just five sessions. Ultimately, it was Durham who managed to emerge victorious, leaving Worcestershire to reflect on what might have been after holding a first-innings lead.
Durham trailed by 26 on first innings after they were bowled out for 136 (Ben Allison 3-26, Tom Taylor 3-36), but George Drissell’s resolute 31 (63 balls) proved priceless as Worcestershire were dismissed for just 81 in their second innings.
A devastating new-ball spell from Ben Raine (4-20) and excellent support from Codi Yusuf (4-26) saw Worcestershire slump to three for three early in their reply and they were never able to recover. Durham faced a target of 108, far from a formality on such a bowler, friendly pitch, and reached that target thanks principally to Ben McKinney’s composed 34 from 58 balls.
Earlier in the day, Worcestershire resumed with the ball and made an immediate breakthrough, Tom Taylor striking twice in the fourth over to remove Jack Blatherwick and Will Rhodes. Ben Allison then made a major impact with three wickets in the space of 13 balls to wrap up the Durham innings and keep Worcestershire in the contest.
However, the momentum swung dramatically as Raine’s early triple strike blew away the top order, with Gareth Roderick, Jake Libby and Rob Jones all falling inside the first two overs. Henry Nicholls (25) and Adam Hose (22) showed resistance, but regular wickets and a lack of partnerships meant Worcestershire were unable to build any scoreboard pressure.
Durham’s chase began shakily as Jacob Duffy bowled Alex Lees early on, and Tom Taylor and Matthew Waite chipped away with two further wickets. But with such a small target, and despite the best efforts of the Worcestershire attack, Durham’s batters were able to find the boundary often enough to edge to victory.
The biggest frustration for Worcestershire supporters was not only the defeat, but also the fact that Sunday’s expected sunshine will now shine down on an empty New Road after the match was wrapped up so quickly.
Worcestershire will look to regroup ahead of their next fixture, determined to turn the positives, notably the bowling displays of Allison and Taylor, into momentum for the remainder of the season.
