Rothesay County Championship, New Road, Worcester (day four)
Lancashire 180: Jennings 55; Swanepoel 4-37 & 2-0
Worcestershire 263-7 dec: Swanepoel 63*; Balderson 4-78
Worcestershire (12 pts) drew with Lancashire (10 pts)
Match scorecard
Weather overruled any chance of a result at New Road as a promising final day of County Championship action between Worcestershire and Lancashire ended in a share of the spoils.
The hosts made every effort to force victory against the clock, with Beyers Swanepoel’s counter-attacking 63 not out from 55 balls and a Jake Libby half-century propelling the Pears to 263-7 declared.
George Balderson (4-78) caught the eye once again for the Red Rose, before Worcestershire skipper Brett D’Oliveira (45) declared midway through the evening session with 32 overs left in the day in a last-ditch attempt to claim some valuable bonus points.
Trailing by 81 runs, the visitors managed just two overs of their reply before the rain proved terminal, with the draw handing Worcestershire a blow in their quest for Division Two promotion.
Jake Libby and Rehaan Edavalath started positively for the hosts in their resumption on the final morning, enjoying a rare break in the weather as Lancashire’s search for an early breakthrough came to no avail.
Youngster Edavalath looked assured and played the more dominant role as the Pears looked to add to their three bowling bonus points.
Tom Aspinwall needed just six balls to manufacture the first clear chance of the day for his side, but saw Libby handed a second life as Marcus Harris failed to hold onto a chance low down at first slip.
A second-wicket stand of 75 handed the home side the upper hand heading into lunch, but two wickets in three balls from Balderson swung the momentum, as the seamer trapped Edavalath lbw for 42 before castling Adam Hose’s off stump moments later.
With their opponents 90-3 at lunch, Tom Bailey (2-51) made it four just two overs into the afternoon session when the seamer had Libby caught behind for 56.
A productive counter offensive from fifth-wicket pair Swanepoel and D’Oliveira helped add 59 in just eight overs, with Worcestershire’s captain rattling 45 from 44 balls in a breezy cameo that included five boundaries, before Balderson returned to cut his innings short with an excellent reflex catch, low down to his left off his own bowling.
At 191-5 an early tea was taken as the weather interrupted once more, where Ben Walkden and the impressive Balderson traded wickets to remove Henry Cullen and Matthew Waite cheaply as Lancashire looked to work through the tail.
An unbeaten 55-ball 63 from Swanepoel propelled the hosts to 263-7, where, with 32 overs left in the day, the declaration was confirmed.
Only two overs of the reply were possible with Lancashire 2-0, before the clouds darkened and the heavens opened with the sides shaking hands at 17:00 BST.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.