Jake Libby defies the wickets clatter to set Worcestershire heading in the right direction
Leicestershire 110 (Pennington 4-36, Waite 3-24) and 114 for 7 (Pennington 3-25) want 124 runs to beat Worcestershire 178 and 169 (Libby 67, Wright 4-44)
Term has ended at Oakham and its numerous buildings at the moment are rented out to summer season faculties. One of the outcomes of this enterprise is that once in a while crocodiles of abroad college students cross behind the bowler’s arm, unaware they’re delaying a recreation. Of course, they could not realise a recreation is going down. Perhaps they suppose this fixed to-and-froing of males in white garments is England’s counterpart to the Japanese tea ceremony; maybe they’re proper. Patience, acceptance and meditation definitely have one thing to do with it and not less than two of these virtues are a continuing presence within the batting of Jake Libby, a participant who has executed as a lot as anybody to make a Worcestershire victory the heaviest of chances at some stage tomorrow morning
Libby is a type of county cricketers who is aware of his recreation intimately, exploits his strengths fastidiously and barely lets his staff down. His 67 off 114 balls is the best innings of this match thus far and also you would possibly get the Nicaraguan nationwide debt on that remaining the case. It was filled with the managed edges and stock-in-trade opener’s nudges which have enabled Libby to common practically fifty in his 41 first-class video games for Worcestershire since his transfer from Nottinghamshire. More considerably within the context of this important match at Doncaster Close, it helped his facet construct on a 68-run first-innings lead and problem Leicestershire to attain 238 to win.
That was already troublesome sufficient earlier than Josh Tongue arrived from Old Trafford to play rather than Adam Finch for the final three days of this recreation. Charging in from the Allotments End when Leicestershire had already misplaced Louis Kimber and Rishi Patel to the brand new ball, Tongue had restricted influence in his opening spell. But after tea, he eliminated Peter Handscomb’s off stump and had Wiaan Mulder caught behind for a second-ball duck. Those dismissals left Leicestershire on 53 for five and their tumbrils had been rattling. Later within the night session, Dillon Pennington had each Lewis Hill and Tom Scriven caught behind in the identical over and the tricoteuses’ needles clacked within the Close. Only the choice of the umpires to take the gamers off for dangerous gentle appeared to spare Leicestershire Madame Guillotine. But then neither of the officers had their troubles to hunt at the moment and so they most likely welcomed the early closure as properly
Maybe all of us did. Days on which 18 and 19 wickets fall hardly ever lack incident and it was most likely troublesome for even essentially the most attentive spectator to isolate particular person innings. At lunch, for instance Worcestershire had been 81 for 3, which they most likely thought an inexpensive return on a pitch which was solely drying out correctly on this second day. Chris Wright had taken the wickets of Gareth Roderick and Azhar Ali with the brand new ball and Matt Salisbury had eliminated Jack Haynes, strangled down the leg facet, a destiny which the departing batsman seemed as if he wished to inflict on Neil Bainton when he noticed the umpire’s finger raised.
Libby and Adam Hose added one other 25 runs within the afternoon session earlier than there was one other clatter of wickets. Some had been the results of good bowling: Libby was caught behind for 67 off one which nipped away from Mulder. Others had been the consequence of brain-fazed batting: Joe Leach was run out trying two runs solely Frankel would have coasted and Josh Baker minimize Matt Salisbury to Rishi Patel at deep level. Once once more, Worcestershire supporters had been grateful that their last-wicket pair, on this case Pennington and Tongue, may add 24 runs for the final wicket, for much too many cricketers have based mostly their shot choice on what they feared the pitch would do moderately than its precise efficiency.
Indeed, moderately an excessive amount of criticism has been vented on this Oakham wicket and not directly on the pinnacle groundsman, Richard Dexter. True, the floor was very troublesome on the primary day, largely as a result of it had been beneath cowl for a lot of the earlier 5 to guard it from the rain. However, when the solar started working on it this morning, it performed slightly extra simply and some dismissals had been brought about as a lot by suspicion as actuality.
That was what made Libby’s innings such a superb effort though his strokes won’t have introduced any consolation to Benno and Stench. Two of Leicestershire’s most loyal supporters, and notably vocal on T20 nights at Grace Road, the pair established a base camp suitably near the Social Science constructing on the primary day of this recreation. From that vantage level, they noticed Worcestershire subside fairly slowly, which can have happy them, after which Leicestershire collapse like dissatisfied divas on an awards night, which can have introduced them no such delight. Today’s cricket adopted the same sample so perhaps it was propitious that their banner was lacking because the wickets tumbled, the batters grumbled and the uncomprehending crocodiles approached the sightscreen.