Moores still the talisman for in-form Notts

Fast-improving Nottinghamshire dodged the worst of the rain to register their third victory in four LV= County Championship matches by beating Worcestershire by five wickets at New Road.

Needing 75 more runs, they were delayed for 75 minutes by a heavy shower and it was after lunch when a strong team performance came to a successful conclusion after a stand of 157 by James Taylor and Riki Wessels.

On the resumption at 157 for three, their partnership was worth 120 and when it was broken by Saeed Ajmal it was the county's highest for the fourth wicket in championship meetings with Worcestershire.

Taylor, a former academy player at New Road, compiled a classy 66 from 127 balls and Wessels, after a first-innings duck, more than made amends with 88 from 190 balls on the ground where he marked his debut for Notts by scoring 67 in May 2011.

Worcestershire, as always, kept fighting to the end but they were eventually overpowered by two batsmen - and a team - at the top of their game since the forner England coach, Peter Moores, was added to the coaching staff as an assistant to Mick Newell.

After a sluggish start to the season, it now seems that Nottinghamshire can do no wrong. Since propping up the Division One table in the Championship on June 24, they have amassed 77 points from four matches, two of them against Worcestershire, and in completed games in all competitions they have reeled off 10 consecutive wins.

Worcestershire, in contrast, have lost seven completed matches in a row, mostly in the Royal London One-day Cup, and the struggle against relegation in the Championship continues despite another committed display.

The match was probably lost on the second day when a dropped chance allowed Nottinghamshire to take control by adding 157 in the afternoon session.

By the last day their victory was close to being a formality, although Taylor and Wessels went out of their way to avoid unnecessary risks in adding 31 in 12 overs by lunch.

It was only when they looked for a big finish that they came unstuck, departing in successive overs from Ajmal as they tried to take on the off-spinner. Taylor was caught at extra cover and Wessels at mid-off.

Notts eventually got home 45 minutes after lunch. Samit Patel (17 not out)) avoided a "pair" with a six to mid-wicket off Brett D'Oliveira and Chris Read (19 not out) finished it off with successive fours off Ajmal.