Heavy rain is a real pain as derby ends in a draw
WARWICKSHIRE’S Bob Willis Trophy Central Group encounter with Worcestershire was an early victim of the weather after heavy overnight rain at New Road.
Umpires Rob Bailey and Jeremy Lloyds decided no action would be possible on the final day after inspecting a saturated outfield and play was abandoned at 10.25am.
There were puddles on the covers and outfield and more heavy rain started falling shortly after the decision was taken.
The two teams both collect 13 points from a game dominated by the bat, in which only 16 wickets fell in three days.
Worcestershire will now face a crunch final group match with Somerset at New Road, beginning on Sunday, September 6.
The two teams are in contention for top spot with the two group winners with the most points going through to the final at Lord’s.
Worcestershire club captain Joe Leach said: “You can’t do much about the weather. It looked pretty bleak for a few days and we knew we were going to get this storm. The ground is saturated, you’ve got no chance of getting on.
“In some respects, it is disappointing the pitch and circumstances didn’t allow a result game but once again we applied ourselves exceptionally with the bat to get a firstinnings ‘win’ with this 120 overs rule. “With the ball for large parts we set out to do on what was a very batter-friendly pitch and we stuck to our task as well as we could. It was heading for a draw from ten past eleven on day one if we are perfectly honest. “We will take the points, we will see what happens at Taunton and it sets us up for what in effect is a red-ball semi-final in a couple of weeks’ time.
“If you had offered us that at the start of the season, we would have absolutely taken that.”
Craig Overton finished with figures of five for 26 as Somerset wrapped up a thumping 314-run win over Gloucestershire.
The hosts needed just 15 minutes to claim Gloucestershire’s last two wickets in Taunton and move to the top of the Central Group.
You can’t do much about the weather. It looked pretty bleak for a few days and we knew we were going to get this storm. Joe Leach