It was before a late tea interval when the New Road season drew to a close and the Worcestershire supporters were able to stand up, stretch in the late sunshine, and with cheery “winter well” and “see you next season”, collected their bags and tootled off to their dinner. In the end they had reason to smile for relegated though they may be to next year’s Second Division, at the last ditch they had totally overwhelmed a Middlesex team that will be watching the events at Trent Bridge closely now to see if they can hang on to second place.
Not even a merry flog of a 72-run last-wicket partnership between John Simpson (50 not out) and Tim Murtagh could mask the inadequacy of Middlesex’s cricket in this match. Having conceded a first-innings lead of 333 once Daryl Mitchell declared the Worcestershire innings closed at 431 for five, they lost all their wickets in the afternoon session, at one stage nine for 89 in 24 overs, to be all out for 205, losing by an innings and 128 runs.
Middlesex were comprehensively out-batted, particularly by the Toms, Fell and Kohler-Cadmore, whose fourth-wicket partnership eventually yielded 229 runs and, on a pitch that helped the seamers consistently throughout, were out-bowled as well.
A key difference was unquestionably the pace of Shannon Gabriel, the very short-term signing from Trinidad who gave a not-so-gentle reminder of what county cricket once had to offer several decades ago. He took two second-innings wickets only but they were the result of batsmen unused to such velocity, being beaten and bowled by pace, while Paul Stirling was given a roughing-up that will have left him nursing a couple of bruises.
At lunch Middlesex had reached 39 without loss and seemed set on making amends for their first-innings debacle. The intent was positive. After the interval, though, the whole complexion of the innings changed as Ed Bernard, Jack Shantry and Gabriel, aided by two comedy run outs at the end, ran through the order.
Earlier, Fell had taken his score to 171 before he was caught off Dexter, by which time Kohler-Cadmore had reached his maiden first class hundred by advancing down the pitch to Ollie Rayner’s offspin and driving him wide of mid-off. By the time Mitchell called them in he had reached 130 and helped add an unbroken 78 in 12 overs for the sixth wicket with Ben Cox, 53 not out, whose half century came from only 37 balls.
