Having defied the odds to beat the drop last season, Worcestershire are already working hard to ensure they preserve their Division One status in 2012, says All Out Cricket contributor Chris Knight.
Before the 2011 County Championship had even started, newly promoted Worcestershire were written off as relegation fodder and installed as odds on favourites for the wooden spoon. History was against them, as promotions in 2006 and 2008 were swiftly followed by relegation the following year, and it was widely assumed that this campaign would be no different.
Six successive defeats to start the season suggested the writing was on the wall for the Pears, but the seventh game against Nottinghamshire marked a turning point as they picked up their first Division One win since 2007 and their first at New Road since 2004.
“We played some fantastic cricket and in at least four of those first six games we were in a position to win the game, but unfortunately we didn’t get over the line,” Worcestershire captain Daryl Mitchell told AOC. “I think the seventh game where we beat Notts gave us that little bit more belief and getting that first win under the belt was important. We knew we could win more games after that.”
And win more games they did as they went on to pick up three further victories to ensure safety and defy the bookmakers, as supposed title contendersYorkshire and Hampshire fell through the trap door.
Survival was based around a relatively young squad and Mitchell believes the innocence of youth was a big difference in comparison to doomed campaigns of the past. “We had a younger group of players than in previous years and a lot of guys hadn’t been in Division One before, so perhaps there was a lack of fear factor for some of them. I think we played some aggressive cricket and we went to try and win games; we lost a few games along the way but managed to win four games.”
The know-how of the experienced pair Vikram Solanki (1,148 runs at 42.51) and Alan Richardson (73 wickets at 24.42) cannot be underplayed as they showed their younger teammates the way. Meanwhile, the influence of foreign imports came at crucial periods in the season – Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan took seven wickets in his sole Championship appearance while Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal weighed in with 17 wickets at 27.70 during a brief spell.
They proved to be shrewd signings by Steve Rhodes and it is a credit to the county that they managed to stay up on a shoe-string budget. Rhodes knows the club can’t stand still though, and England hopeful Moeen Ali and MVP runner-up Gareth Andrew have signed new contracts, while David Lucas arrives from Northamptonshire to help ease the bowling burden on Richardson.
These will be viewed as positive moves by the Worcester faithful, who have seen stars such as Steve Davies, Stephen Moore, Gareth Batty and Kabir Ali depart in recent seasons due to financial constraints. The need to keep hold of key players and add yet more quality to the squad this time is obvious, particularly as critics continue to question their very existence.
Worcestershire’s survival this season is at least one in the eye to doubters like Mark Nicholas, who last year called for counties to relinquish their first-class status and listed the Pears as one of “six or seven counties that exist for no obviously justifiable reason”. With the financial state of county cricket ever more parlous, a reduction in the number of counties is an unwelcome possibility and Worcestershire will be keen to justify their place by continuing to challenge at the top table of county cricket.
“The First Division is where you want to play your cricket,” says Mitchell. “Thankfully we’ve managed to win enough games to stay in Division One next year, and hopefully we can build on that and move ourselves higher up the table.” For now, Worcestershire will be more than happy to keep defying the odds.
Worcestershire Look To Build After Shock Survival
Having defied the odds to beat the drop last season, Worcestershire are already working hard to ensure they preserve their Division One status in 2012, says All Out Cricket contributor Chris Knight.
Before the 2011 County Championship had even started, newly promoted Worcestershire were written off as relegation fodder and installed as odds on favourites for the wooden spoon. History was against them, as promotions in 2006 and 2008 were swiftly followed by relegation the following year, and it was widely assumed that this campaign would be no different.
Six successive defeats to start the season suggested the writing was on the wall for the Pears, but the seventh game against Nottinghamshire marked a turning point as they picked up their first Division One win since 2007 and their first at New Road since 2004.
“We played some fantastic cricket and in at least four of those first six games we were in a position to win the game, but unfortunately we didn’t get over the line,” Worcestershire captain Daryl Mitchell told AOC. “I think the seventh game where we beat Notts gave us that little bit more belief and getting that first win under the belt was important. We knew we could win more games after that.”
And win more games they did as they went on to pick up three further victories to ensure safety and defy the bookmakers, as supposed title contendersYorkshire and Hampshire fell through the trap door.
Survival was based around a relatively young squad and Mitchell believes the innocence of youth was a big difference in comparison to doomed campaigns of the past. “We had a younger group of players than in previous years and a lot of guys hadn’t been in Division One before, so perhaps there was a lack of fear factor for some of them. I think we played some aggressive cricket and we went to try and win games; we lost a few games along the way but managed to win four games.”
The know-how of the experienced pair Vikram Solanki (1,148 runs at 42.51) and Alan Richardson (73 wickets at 24.42) cannot be underplayed as they showed their younger teammates the way. Meanwhile, the influence of foreign imports came at crucial periods in the season – Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan took seven wickets in his sole Championship appearance while Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal weighed in with 17 wickets at 27.70 during a brief spell.
They proved to be shrewd signings by Steve Rhodes and it is a credit to the county that they managed to stay up on a shoe-string budget. Rhodes knows the club can’t stand still though, and England hopeful Moeen Ali and MVP runner-up Gareth Andrew have signed new contracts, while David Lucas arrives from Northamptonshire to help ease the bowling burden on Richardson.
These will be viewed as positive moves by the Worcester faithful, who have seen stars such as Steve Davies, Stephen Moore, Gareth Batty and Kabir Ali depart in recent seasons due to financial constraints. The need to keep hold of key players and add yet more quality to the squad this time is obvious, particularly as critics continue to question their very existence.
Worcestershire’s survival this season is at least one in the eye to doubters like Mark Nicholas, who last year called for counties to relinquish their first-class status and listed the Pears as one of “six or seven counties that exist for no obviously justifiable reason”. With the financial state of county cricket ever more parlous, a reduction in the number of counties is an unwelcome possibility and Worcestershire will be keen to justify their place by continuing to challenge at the top table of county cricket.
“The First Division is where you want to play your cricket,” says Mitchell. “Thankfully we’ve managed to win enough games to stay in Division One next year, and hopefully we can build on that and move ourselves higher up the table.” For now, Worcestershire will be more than happy to keep defying the odds.