A new season and a new Division – but there is nothing new about the lower-order defiance of Worcestershire’s Matthew Waite.
There was a sense of déjà vu in the air on the final day at Derbyshire, as the all-rounder produced another titanic batting display to earn his side a hard-fought opening match draw against Derbyshire.
Almost a year to the day on from entering the middle at Taunton in very similar circumstances, Waite led another lower-order rearguard at the Central Co-op County Ground this weekend and saved his side from defeat in the same vein he did against Somerset in 2025.
Facing 141 balls in a three hour stay at the crease, Waite was happy to see his side out of trouble on the final day after defeat had at one stage appeared the inevitable outcome.
“Last year was quite a bit longer than that, but the boys put in a great fight today, and we showed a bit of resilience which is good after the week we had.
“We had a pretty disappointing first few days, but I thought we’ve got a positive result from where we were in the game.
“The task in hand was just about batting all day, and I actually found it really hard to time the ball on there. I didn’t hit many out of the middle, I don’t think, but I didn’t really need to.
“Trying to score freely I actually thought was quite tough, so that sort of helped the situation in some ways.”
Entering the fray with the game on a knife edge, Waite dug in for a gritty 66 not-out, clinching a draw from the jaws of defeat at 6:20pm on Monday evening, embracing partner Tom Taylor who had fought admirably by his side.
A proven man for the big occasion, the star of Worcestershire’s Metro Bank One Day Cup triumph in last September’s final showed all of his experience and composure once again to ensure his side head to Lords this Friday with 11 points under their belt.
The linchpin in the Pears middle-order said his ball-by-ball focus and patient approach underpinned his stay at the crease.
“I don’t know how many overs were left when I went out, but I remember it feeling like quite a lot, but every over, it was just about taking it one over at a time. Tick that off, tick that off, tick that off, and then as it gets closer, you start to believe more and more.
“Like I said earlier, the position we were in this game, I think it’s a positive result to come away with a draw.
“Obviously, you don’t want to be on the end of what we were on the end of, but we have come away with a draw, and we move onto next week.”
Although it was Waite who top-scored in the second innings, it was young star Dan Lategan at the top of the order who made headlines of his own, with two excellent opening cameos in extremely testing conditions.
Desperately unlucky fall 11 runs short of a maiden first-class hundred in Worcestershire’s first innings, Lategan made a well-tempered 49 in the second as he displayed maturity and class in equal measure throughout.
Waite, was full of praise for the teenage opening batter.
“Dan was outstanding. I was gutted for him in the first innings, playing so well and just missing out on a hundred in a pretty bad way. But I think he showed his full potential in both innings.
“He’s very dismissive, he’s very dominant, and he’s an exciting prospect.”
