Warwickshire beat Worcestershire by 218 runs

Warwickshire beat Worcestershire by 218 runs before lunch on the final day at Edgbaston.

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DAY 4

Three wickets in the first hour for the Bears put them firmly in control of the local derby with Rikki Clarke taking two and Naqaash Tahir picking up his fourth of the innings as Choudhry, Ali and Andrew all went cheaply.

When Boyd Rankin dismissed Wright and then hit Scott on the hand, forcing him to retire hurt, Worcestershire’s innings came to a close with Solanki and Richardson unable to bat through injury.

Warwickshire take 15 points and Worcestershire 4 points
 

DAY 3

Chris Metters wrapped up the Worcestershire first innings with his first ball of the morning when Richardson gloved the ball to Clarke at slip to finish with 6-65.

With a lead of 154 on first innings Warwickshire decided not to enforce the follow-on, but soon lost Porterfield 4 to a delivery from Richardson that bowled him with one that kept low.

Varun Chopra 24 quickly followed caught by Andrew off a ball that rose from a length and when Jonathan Trott was caught taking evasive action from a brute of a delivery from the medium pace of Shantry the Bears were 41-3.

Ian Bell 14, then fell to Shantry offering a return catch when a delivery stopped on him. At lunch the Bears were 88-4 with Yousaf 27* and Maddy 15*.

Wickets continued to fall after lunch although Mohammad Yousaf completed a very confident half century before lobbing a catch to Richardson of another difficult delivery.

Ian Bell declared with eight wickets down and a lead of 327 leaving the Bears over four sessions available to bowl Worcestershire out.

Naqaash Tahir struck two quick blows, with openers Cameron and Pardoe both out with only seven on the board. Immediately before a rain interruption, Vikram Solanki was struck on the head by Rankin and when play resumed Moeen Ali had taken his place.

Tahir collected a third wicket having Kervezee lbw for thirteen, before rain returned and play was suspended again.

DAY 2

Allan Richardson picked up an early wicket for Worcestershire on the second morning when Mohammad Yousaf 109 lost his off stump when leaving a ball that kept low and came back into him.

Naqaash Tahir 5 was next to go caught in the gulley off another delivery that lifted from Wright but Tim Ambrose completed his half century before another lifter saw him loop a shot to Ali at slip for 58 to give Wright his fifth wicket of the innings.

Chris Metters 27* on debut, batted well and with Boyd Rankin 25 added thirty nine for the last wicket before the innings closed on 382

There was time for four overs before lunch when Worcestershire were 4-0.

Pardoe and Cameron replied with a fifty opening partnership before Cameron’s edge off Maddy was taken by Ambrose for twenty eight.

Vikram Solanki joined Pardoe who completed his half century, adding fifty nine before Solanki was well caught at slip by Maddy off Rankin for twenty five.

At tea Worcestershire were 122-2 with Pardoe unbeaten on fifty eight, but two wickets for Chris Metters on debut changed the game as Pardoe gave a return catch and Kervezee after a breezy twenty three, was lbw attempting a sweep.

Rikki Clarke joined in with the wickets of Choudhry 3 and Andrew 9 as Worcestershire slipped to 176-6 and then Metters in his twentieth over had the skipper, Moeen Ali caught by Trott at backward short-leg for nineteen.

Some late hitting from the eighth wicket pair of Scott and Wright 10 was brought to an end when Metters’ full toss was hit straight to Porterfield on the square-leg boundary and then in the final over of the day Metters completed a dream debut when holding a sharp return chance off Shantry to finish with 5-65 as Worcestershire closed on 228-9.

DAY 1

After winning the toss and batting against Worcestershire, the Bears came across another bowler friendly wicket at Edgbaston and decided that attack was to be the order of the day.

Unsettled after being hit on the hand by a couple of deliveries that rose from a length, Chopra was caught at fine leg pulling a short delivery from Wright to Richardson for sixteen.

Fellow opener William Porterfield also played some aggressive shots before the swing of Richardson trapped him lbw for twenty one.

The session had been reduced by fifty minutes for rain at the start of the day and at lunch, Warwickshire were 59-2 from just sixteen overs.

After a further delay for rain, the afternoon session began with a delivery that Bell played at throat height and with unpredictable bounce and movement through the air and off the wicket, batting was proving to be difficult as Trott edged Richardson to a diving Scott for nine with Warwickshire 78-3

The next to go was Ian Bell 34, lbw to a shooter from Wright that left him stranded in front of his wicket and then Wright struck again, when Maddy 7 edged to Moeen Ali at slip as the Bears stumbled to 99-5.

Rikki Clarke and Mohammad Yousaf dug in and managed to survive to the tea interval when the Bears were 139-5

Immediately after tea, two sixes in an over off Choudhry by Clarke, brought the fifty partnership and took the Bears past 150 and with both batsmen beginning to time the ball, they each reached their half centuries and posted a century partnership for the sixth wicket before Clarke’s edge was taken by Scott diving to his right for fifty six with the Bears 207-6.