Tongue, Pennington pivotal as Worcestershire beat Leicestershire by 100 runs
Worcestershire 178 (Mulder 3-27, Salisbury 3-56) and 169 (Libby 67, Wright 4-44) beat Leicestershire 110 (Pennington 4-36, Waite 3-24) and 137 (Tongue 5-29, Pennington 3-25) by 100 runs
Leaving a county mixes the feelings of even essentially the most clear-minded younger cricketer. On the one hand you’re, you hope, furthering your profession. On the opposite, you’re saying farewell to the coaches who could have performed an important function in your growth, the team-mates with whom you will have spent good and dangerous summers and the bottom you known as residence. So think about, if you’ll, the sentiments of Dillon Pennington and Josh Tongue every week or so in the past once they returned to New Road and advised their colleagues they had been leaving Worcestershire on the finish of the present season.
Both quick bowlers are taking the well-travelled highway to Nottinghamshire, a county that appears to signal gamers from different counties as steadily as Imelda Marcos purchased sneakers. But each will, one assumes, be required by Worcestershire for the rest of a season through which Brett D’Oliveira’s aspect have real promotion hopes. Such aspirations had been boosted this morning when the guests took simply 5 overs to finish their 100-run victory over Leicestershire at Oakham School. The win takes Worcestershire degree on factors with their hosts this week and solely Durham are at the moment above them within the Second Division desk.
And possibly it was significantly encouraging that each Pennington and Tongue performed main roles within the triumph. Pennington didn’t bowl on the ultimate morning of this recreation – solely Tongue and Matthew Waite had been required – however at the least his match figures of seven for 61 might need gone some solution to assuage the affront precipitated when he just lately undertook some publicity about his transfer to Trent Bridge whereas nonetheless a Worcestershire participant.
Tongue’s scenario was much more complicated. Earlier this week he was with the England squad at Emirates Old Trafford however having been launched from Test Match commitments, he was free to affix his county at Oakham, the place he changed Adam Finch and wreaked havoc.
Having dismissed Peter Handscomb and Wiaan Mulder within the house of three balls on the second night, Tongue was much more lickety-split about his work on this third morning His third ball tempted Rehan Ahmed right into a free drive that solely succeeded in edging a catch to Gareth Roderick, an admirable cricketer who had a quietly spectacular match behind the stumps.
Having eliminated the one participant able to profitable the sport for Leicestershire, Tongue then sealed his aspect’s victory 4 overs later earlier than most of the press pack had completed their morning espresso. Callum Parkinson was caught by Azhar Ali for 14 and Matt Salisbury yorked for a second-ball nought. The gamers trooped off the sphere at simply gone 11.15 and a few of them might need questioned why they’d bothered to alter into their whites.
Within half an hour the equipment wanted for county cricket had been being dismantled, the pitch was being lined and Alan Richardson, Worcestershire’s head coach was reflecting on his aspect’s third victory of the season.
“For us to be successful it is not going to be about one or two people, it is going to be a squad effort, with people stepping up at different times,” stated Richardson. “In this game I thought Matthew Waite bowled extremely well, him and Joe [Leach] at that far end kept control of the game, allowing Adam Finch in the first innings, Josh in the second and Dillon throughout to do their stuff at the other end.”
“Obviously I’m disappointed that Josh and Dillon are leaving but at the same time they are still our players and they still want to perform for us for the rest of the season, to help us achieve our goals and having them in the team makes us better. We aren’t going to change our opinion on that just because they are leaving at the end of the season.”