Derbyshire's County Championship season ends with a whimper at Worcestershire
Ben Allison’s first-class career-best of 6-42 in overall match figures of 11-64 drove Worcestershire to a comprehensive 175-run victory over Derbyshire inside three days in a one-sided Rothesay County Championship clash at New Road.
Setting the visitors 333 to win, Derbyshire subsided to 39-6, with Allison’s second five wicket haul of the match inflicting the most damage.
Luis Reece and Amrit Basra stemmed the flow with a fifty-run stand for the seventh wicket, with Reece taking a lead role in the afternoon session as he made his way to a gritty 49, but once his wicket fell the hosts hurried to victory.
Ben Gibbon’s season best return of 4-28 sealed victory for the Pears midway through the afternoon, as Derbyshire were bowled out for 157 and consigned to a 175-run defeat.
Derbyshire Head Coach Mickey Arthur felt his side had been undone with the bat.
“The batting has let us down, in this game we thought par was about 160 and they went on to get too many, before we were well short in that first innings,” he said.
“We had them 98-8 and again they got off the hook, in terms of this game, we fell short with our top order.
“That for me was the big difference because it was tough to bat on for the first 30 overs of the game and we had to make that count, and if you did you could make it count.
“Once you are chasing 333 on a wicket that tough, its pretty much game over. With all due respect, once they got over 250 that was probably going to be too much for us. We have no excuses, but our full bowling attack on that surface probably doesn’t let them get 250 twice.”
Just three runs had been added to Worcestershire’s overnight total when Nick Potts wrapped up proceedings by catching Ben Gibbon’s edge, with the visitors set 333 to win.
Ben Allison put the hosts into an early stronghold with a double wicket maiden to dismiss Harry Came and Matthew Montgomery.
Allison heaped on the misery for Derbyshire by claiming his third and fourth wickets of the morning in quick succession, removing Wayne Madsen and Yousaf bin-Naeem to reduce the visitors to 32-4.
The wickets continued to tumble when Martin Andersson saw his 21-ball stay at the crease was ended by Ben Gibbon, before headline act Allison sealed a second fifer of the match and a third five wicket haul of the season when he celebrated the wicket of Brooke Guest.
Luis Reece and Amrit Basra provided some resistance as Derbyshire limped through to lunch on 75-6.
Reece took a lead role in the afternoon session as he made his way to a gritty 49 from 67 balls but was undone one run short of a deserved half-century when he chopped on to the impressive Allison after mistiming a drive.
Basra was bowled by Gibbon to end his riposte of 40, and the seamer put the Pears on the verge when he had Bashir caught at slip with the very next ball.
The final act of the summer saw Gibbon wrap up victory when he removed Potts for 29, as the visitors were bowled out for 157.