Yorkshire's victory push thwarted by Libby, Roderick and rain
Worcestershire's second innings hit by three-hour delay but third-wicket pair stand firm
ECB Reporters Network
13-Jul-2023
Jake Libby was unbeaten on 61 • Getty Images
Worcestershire 242 (Coad 5-33) and 142 for 2 (Libby 61*) drew with Yorkshire 407 (Bean 135, Lyth 79, Hill 53, Finch 5-100
Yorkshire's victory push was thwarted by the weather and the Worcestershire third-wicket pair of Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick as the LV=Insurance County Championship encounter at New Road ended in a draw.
The home side began the day on 22 without loss in their second innings and had been reduced to 49 for 2 - still 116 runs short of avoiding an innings defeat - when play was halted.
The players were initially taken off for bad light but it was quickly followed by a torrential downpour and a three-hour delay.
When play eventually resumed, acting captain Libby and Roderick closed the door on any hopes the Tykes may have had of forcing a second Championship win of the season. The pair added an unbroken 110 before the players shook hands at 5pm.
Libby, Worcestershire's leading run-scorer this summer, took his tally for 2023 to 701 with an unbeaten 61 while Roderick finished undefeated on 34.
Yorkshire could take some consolation from being the better side for the majority of the game in all departments.
There were several outstanding individual performances with Finlay Bean scoring an excellent century and Ben Coad picking up five wickets in Worcestershire's first innings as they were forced to follow on.
But the momentum changed during the second half of the third day when Worcestershire's last-wicket pair of Adam Finch and Ben Gibbon held up Yorkshire for 35.3 overs and added 63 runs.
Worcestershire will reflect on a performance in which they were below-par with the ball and in the field but, as has been the case in several recent games, dug in when their backs were against the wall.
The ultimate winner was the weather which resulted in the loss of more than 130 overs during the four days.
Gibbon and Finch resumed their nightwatch roles after returning to the middle yesterday evening.
Only nine runs were added before Finch was run out following a mix-up with Gibbon who had turned Matthew Fisher to midwicket.
Gibbon then pushed hard at Coad and was caught at first slip by George Hill but that was as good as it got for the visitors on the final day.
Roderick and Libby joined forces and shepherded Worcestershire through to 49 for 2 before the rain arrived. When play eventually resumed Yorkshire toiled away in vain as Libby and Roderick stood firm.
