Worcestershire Captain Brett D’Oliveira was full of positivity after the opening day’s play at Lord’s, as the talismanic middle-order batter saved his side with a hard-fought 75, before his bowling attack wreaked havoc to ensure the Pears head into day two in the driving seat.
Being asked to bat first on the opening morning at Lord’s, Worcestershire were left reeling at 61-5, before an exemplary innings from the Pears skipper led his side’s repost and dragged them towards a competitive total.
Making a remarkable fiftieth half-century for the Club in the process, D’Oliveira’s 75 oozed class as he nullified the previously clinical Middlesex attack, extending his impressive run of early season form.
Having made such a crucial contribution with the bat, the skipper was glad to see his side end the day in a positive position.
“Look these days are tough aren’t they, when the ball is doing quite a bit. You’ve just got to hope you can build those partnerships and make them count really, which I think we did at times today.
“I’m really happy and pleased, it’s always nice to get a few runs early. I’m hungry for more and it would be nice to go on and get a hundred at some point.
“You always want more. We wanted more than 190, but as I said, the bowlers stood up for us today and put in a great shift.”
Having been bowled out for 191 midway through the afternoon session, the visitors’ total looked somewhat lightweight as the teams reappeared to start the Middlesex innings.
However, the Worcestershire seam attack were greeted by darkened skies and a floodlit outfield as Tom Taylor and Oliver Hannon-Dalby examined the home side’s batters in the early exchanges.
A dramatic evening session saw the visitors seam attack hit their straps and rip through the Middlesex top order, with Hannon-Dalby’s three-fer leading the way for D’Oliveira’s side.
Closing the day in control, Worcestershire will resume the second morning needing just four more wickets to wrap up their opponents innings, currently holding a healthy lead of 100.
D’Oliveira expressed his delight at the bowling unit’s application through the evening session, but reminded his side to take advantage of their position.
“I thought the boys bowled tremendously well. It would be nice if we held our catches all the way through but on days like today that becomes challenging as well. But hopefully tomorrow, early morning, it’ll nip around again and we can take our opportunities.
“We’ve got a great opportunity to make some inroads on this game, so we’ll be rocking up tomorrow with a bit of confidence, ready to put in a good day’s work.”
