Alan Richardson wasted no time in singing the praises of his Worcestershire side after their innings and two-run victory over Kent this weekend, extending the Pears’ unbeaten start to 2026.
Returning to New Road for the first time this summer, Worcestershire produced a complete and clinical performance across all three days, only having to bat once as the hosts dominated proceedings from the outset.
Racking up 447 in reply to Kent’s first innings 196 all-out, Adam Hose (75) and Brett D’Oliveira (90) drove the Pears into the ascendency, before the bowlers made hay on Sunday to rip through Kent’s batting line-up, spearheaded by an exceptional Tom Taylor fifer.
Richardson was delighted with the all-round contributions that established Worcestershire’s unassailable position in the match.
“I am a bit more than pretty pleased, to be honest!
“I can be quite tough to please at times, but I think the boys put in a really good performance.
“The work that they put in, the spirit that they showed, the energy and the intensity they played at gave them an opportunity to perform like that.
“When you do things really well and the basics really well, it gives you a chance to win a game. So to have done it in three days against a good Kent side was really pleasing for everyone.”
With Beyers Swanepoel making an impressive start to life in Worcestershire colours, the 27-year-old settled into his work in an efficient manner, joining forces with the aforementioned Taylor, and fellow bowlers Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Matthew Waite, and Ethan Brookes to take 2o wickets in the match.
After Jake Libby registered another imperious fifty, the 141-run fourth wicket stand between D’Oliveira and Hose kept the hosts on top, before Waite’s half-century combined with some valuable lower-order contributions to take Worcestershire’s lead to 251.
Richardson was particularly impressed with the consistent pressure that his side applied on the third day, having made a conscious effort to improve the team’s preparation since the start of the Rothesay County Championship season.
“It’s important we look at how we try to apply pressure. We talk about it a lot, doing it as an individual, and then also doing it as a team, and I thought we did that for really long periods of time, which then helps Dolly out, and that helps us all out in terms of having control of the game.
“So again, I thought we did it really well.
“We spoke about it up there as a team, and we worked really well. The way that the guys prepared for the game, the way they approached every session, the way they turned up every day to make sure that they gave it as good an effort as they could as a team, and that is really important for us.”
