Worcestershire’s Tom Taylor paid tribute to his side’s continued endeavour and heaped praise the Pears’ batting unit after a spirited performance saw Worcestershire wrap up a 57-run win over Middlesex in round two of the Rothesay County Championship this week.
Bouncing back after a frantic finish to the second day which saw the visitors lose six wickets for 19 runs, a crucial 49-run partnership between Matthew Waite and Gareth Roderick kept Worcestershire in the match, setting Middlesex 262 to win the game.
Taking wickets at regular intervals throughout the afternoon session, a clinical display with the ball by the Pears bowlers kept them in front, with Taylor’s dismissal of Naavya Sharma sealing victory shortly before the close on a gripping third day.
With Dan Lategan’s superb 65 anchoring a well-constructed second innings total, Taylor was full of praise for the teenage opener and the key contributions that followed to ultimately kept his side in the box seat.
“He has come in with a fresh lease of life and he’s super positive, it is just really refreshing to have him at the top of the order for us to go out there and take the game on.
“He is going to be an amazing player, but it was pretty much this morning’s partnership that set us up.
“We set our stall out to try and bat as long as we could and score some runs, so to get those 50 or 60 extra runs just tipped us over the edge of what we thought was about par.
“It seemed like 200 was about average, so that partnership this morning between Rodders (Gareth Roderick) and Waitey (Matthew Waite) put us slightly ahead of the game, mainly because of how much the pitch was deteriorating.
“I’m glad we can look on that and reflect in a positive way, because we’ve got over the line.”
Starting life in Division Two fresh off the back of a record-breaking season in the top tier of the Rothesay County Championship, Worcestershire’s opening bowler has enjoyed another fruitful start to this summer’s red ball action.
Helping himself to five wickets across the match at Lord’s, a formidable opening partnership has been formed with County veteran and Warwickshire loanee, Oliver Hannon-Dalby.
Showing signs of his best with both the new ball and towards the latter stages of the innings, Taylor’s unwavering accuracy and economical spells helped his side stay on the front foot for the duration of a compelling clash at Lord’s.
Enjoying being back in some rhythm, Taylor said the challenge of the famous Lord’s slope and deteriorating conditions played into his side’s hands when Middlesex began to wobble midway through the third day.
“I feel like I’ve hit a little bit of rhythm. I didn’t feel my best last week at Derbyshire, so it was nice to hammer away at length and get a little bit of reward.
“It was an interesting pitch. It seemed passive times, and then all of a sudden, the ball got slightly older, and the dents that happened on the first day seemed to go up and down a little bit, so it changed a lot from the first day.
“When you keep the stumps in play it is always dangerous. But it is an amazing place to play and an amazing place to get a three-day win.”
