Worcestershire v Yorkshire: Yorkshire heading south as defeats mount up

Worcester is about as north as Wharfedale is south; indeed, the New Road ground is roughly the same distance from Devon as it is from Yorkshire.

The long trip home was an unhappy one for the visitors, following a comprehensive 41-run defeat.

After Worcestershire made 183-7 after winning the toss, Yorkshire managed only 142 to slip to their fourth reverse in nine group games.

With 16 matches in the protracted group stage (kidnappers arguably get a shorter sentence than those condemned to watch Twenty20 cricket), there is plenty of scope for the picture to change.

Yorkshire have seven games left and probably need to win at least four to reach the quarter-finals.

But after three straight victories got their campaign back on track (discounting a washed-out match against Northamptonshire), Yorkshire have suffered two further defeats and another washout.

They will certainly need to play much better than they did here against one of only three counties they have beaten all season; Yorkshire had previously defeated Worcestershire in the Championship, CB40 and Twenty20, their other wins coming against Lancashire in the Twenty20 (twice) and Kent in the CB40.

Almost as unfathomable as the fixture list is the modern trend for pre-match warm-ups which, in the case of Twenty20 games, often last as long as the games themselves.

Yesterday, Yorkshire were out practising for two hours in 27 degree heat as they played football, threw around medicine balls and undertook various skills/exercise drills.

Worcestershire practised for about an hour: time enough for Vikram Solanki to twist his ankle playing football – an injury that did not keep him out of a match watched by only 3,500 in perfect conditions.

Yorkshire’s dedication to duty is beyond question but there was little evidence the training had done them any good as Worcestershire made by far the livelier start.

Moeen Ali leg-glanced the first ball of the match from Adil Rashid for four as 13 arrived off the leg-spinner’s opening over.

Moeen also hit the first ball of the second over bowled by Tim Bresnan for four through fine-leg and pulled the next delivery for a one-bounce boundary.

Solanki made little impression before skying an Ajmal Shahzad slower ball to mid-off to leave Worcestershire 30-1 in the third over.

Moeen maintained his assault by pulling Bresnan for six towards the River Severn, Alexei Kervezee flat-batting the England bowler for four through mid-wicket in the same over.

The swashbuckling Moeen finally fell in the fifth over when he lofted Rich Pyrah to deep mid-wicket after thrashing 40 from 20 balls with seven boundaries.

Worcestershire slipped to 70-3 in the eighth over when Shakib Al Hasan scooped Pyrah to point, but Kervezee and James Cameron ensured the good platform was not wasted as they combined in a splendid stand of 77 from 50 balls.

Rashid finally had Kervezee caught at deep mid-wicket for 56 from 36 deliveries, Cameron making 55 from 37 balls before he was caught in the same position off Shahzad.

Cameron’s innings included three sixes, the left-hander lofting Rashid straight and depositing Pyrah and Bresnan high over mid-wicket.

Gareth Andrew picked out deep mid-wicket and Ben Scott pushed to mid-off as the innings ended with a flurry of dismissals, Shahzad the pick of the bowlers with 3-30.

Yorkshire’s reply began disastrously when Jonny Bairstow skied the fourth ball from Jack Shantry straight up in the air to the wicketkeeper.

The decision to promote Bairstow has yet to come off and his dismissal had an unsettling effect.

Four more wickets fell in quick succession as Andrew Gale hit Cameron to cover, Anthony McGrath was bowled trying to drive Shakib through the off-side, Adam Lyth stumped charging Shakib in wholly unnecessary fashion and Shahzad caught at long-on off Cameron.

At 49-5 in the seventh over, the innings was in disarray and the game effectively over.

Pluck was shown by Gary Ballance and Joe Root, who both scored 26 at better than a run-a-ball to help bring respectability to the total.

Ballance slapped Moeen for six over mid-wicket before he was sixth out with the total on 86, caught at deep mid-wicket off Shantry.

Root was caught behind off Shakib to leave Yorkshire 112-7 in the 15th over, Shakib finishing with 4-31.

The innings ended with a whimper as Rashid was stumped, Pyrah caught behind and Azeem Rafiq caught at third man for a golden duck, Bresnan ending unbeaten on 25.

Yorkshire left-arm spinner David Wainwright is to join Derbyshire on a month’s loan from July 2.

Wainwright faces stiff competition from Rashid and Rafiq and has signed for Derbyshire as cover for Tom Knight, who has been chosen for England U-19s’ one-day series against South Africa.