Worcestershire produced a staggering bowling display to dismantle Gloucestershire on the final morning of Rothesay County Championship action at New Road, before holding their nerve to chase down the required 87 runs to seal to an incredible five-wicket win.
On a chaotic fourth morning, Fateh Singh’s maiden first-class fifer and a sensational spell from Matthew Waite ripped through the visitors’ top and middle-order as Gloucestershire took lunch in a heap at 126-7.
Singh secured his maiden first-class fifer early in the afternoon, as Worcestershire continued their efficient display with the ball by mopping up the tail for 185, requiring 87 runs to win a wild contest.
The run chase was far from straightforward, with all three results still possible when Worcestershire were 70-5 late on in the day, but racing to beat the weather, Ethan Brookes and Gareth Roderick (24*) guided their side to a thrilling five wicket win.
After an attritional day’s play on the third at New Road, Worcestershire entered the field under more scorching sunlight, searching for some early Gloucestershire scalps in their efforts to move the game forward and grab an unlikely victory.
An arduous opening 45 minutes saw the visitors bed in, with Cameron Bancroft and Tommy Boorman adding 22 runs to the overnight total as the home side continued to probe to no avail.
The game was flipped on its head when day four suddenly burst into life just before midday, as the away side lost 6-31 in the face of an inspired Worcestershire bowling attack.
The hosts, inspired by the introduction of Fateh Singh, roared back into the match by dismantling Gloucestershire to 112-7.
The left-arm spinner made Boorman the first victim of a frenetic half-hour spell, when Singh got one to beat the bat and pin the right-hander bang in front for 28.
Two overs later and Singh was back for more, this time taking a smart caught and bowled when first-innings centurion Miles Hammond (0) chipped one back to the youngster, who held onto a smart catch from the Diglis End.
With Tom Taylor absent through illness, the onus fell on seamer Matthew Waite to keep the pressure on for the Pears, and as so often has been the case, the golden arm came up trumps for his side.
Angling one back at James Bracey from around the wicket, the keeper-batter made a costly error to shoulder arms at a ball destined for off-stump, cueing scenes of wild celebration from Waite and co as Worcestershire snatched a crucial fourth wicket.
With two slips and fielders now stationed at short-leg, silly-point and short extra-cover, Brett D’Oliveira rolled the dice and went for broke.
It was former Australian international Bancroft, who had proved a thorn in Worcestershire’s side throughout the match, that remained the pivotal wicket.
Shortly after passing fifty, arguably the biggest turning point of a chaotic morning so far arrived, when Waite got one to rise on the right-hander who shouldered an inside edge onto his pad and inadvertently handed Allison a dolly at short-leg, as thoughts began to shift towards the quite remarkable and previously comprehendible possibility of the Pears manoeuvring a final day victory.
97-5 when Bancroft was caught for 56, Singh then produced his best delivery of the morning so far to castle Jack Taylor for just five when the finger spinner got one to straighten and clatter into off-stump.
The scarcely believable was unfolding, and when Singh was gifted a fourth wicket in the 23rd over of the day, an unfathomable 55 minutes had elapsed as Worcestershire dismantled their opponents and enforced a seismic shift in momentum that now made the hosts favourites for victory.
Now effectively 14-7, Ben Allison tore in from the New Road End amongst a jubilant set of fielders on the stroke of lunch and almost took an eighth wicket of the morning when a caught and bowled opportunity was chipped back his way but strayed agonisingly out of reach of the seamer.
After a breakneck morning session, an overjoyed home side left the field with their opponents 126-7, with the visitors leading by a mere 27 runs.
Daz Ahmed and Graeme van Buuren came together upon the resumption, providing some stubborn resistance for the visitors, adding a plucky 50 for the eighth Gloucestershire wicket.
Exactly 10 overs had been bowled in the afternoon session, when, after a period of relative calm, Waite (3-14) returned in empathic style to blow van Buuren’s off-stump out of the ground with a beauty of an inswinger, ending his riposte of 32.
Moments later, Worcestershire had a ninth wicket and were on the verge of something truly spectacular when 21-year-old Fateh Singh, making his first appearance of the Rothesay County Championship season, wheeled away in delight after claiming the wicket of Ahmed for 27, when a flighted ball kissed the edge of his bat on the way through to Brookes at first slip.
Sealing a maiden first-class fifer, the spinner had set his side on course for a famous victory, which looked all the more likely when Beyers Swanepoel officially ended the Gloucestershire innings for 185 when he produced a spearing yorker to Will Williams that pinned him LBW.
Singh led his side from the field, finishing the innings with figures of 5-74, as one of the finest Worcestershire bowling performances in recent memory had set the side up for a potentially iconic victory.
Chasing 87 to win was by no means a straightforward task on a pitch that offered plenty of assistance to the pace off bowlers, and the Pears were dealt an early blow when Dan Lategan nicked behind with the third ball of the innings.
Promoted to number three, Beyers Swanepoel wasted no time in signalling his intent by lashing the final ball of the over through cover point with the hosts up and running in their pursuit.
Jake Libby and the promoted Swanepoel saw Worcestershire past 30, but Libby became van Buuren’s second victim when he edged to Bancroft at first slip for five.
Swanepoel batted on, playing with a flourishing blade and ample confidence to take the Pears past fifty, but after making his way to a breezy 38-ball 35, he too fell foul of a van Buuren ball that was feathered to first slip.
Adam Hose (2) came and went as Worcestershire wobbled at 57-4, before skipper D’Oliveira (6) became van Buuren’s fourth victim.
At 70-5, all three results were still possible late on in the day, but racing to beat the weather, Ethan Brookes and Gareth Roderick (24*) guided their side to a thrilling five wicket win and secure Worcestershire a third Rothesay County Championship win of the season
