Worcestershire’s lack of runs and lack of fixtures at New Road a cause for concern

Derbyshire Falcons (112/3) defeated Worcestershire Rapids (109/9) by 7 wickets with 18 balls remaining

• Rapids put into bat and hit under-par 109/9

• Sophia Mitchell top-scores with 21

• Derbyshire in trouble at 6/2 in 2^nd over of their reply

• Assured 60* from Rebecca Duckworth seals a comfortable victory for the Falcons

• Worcestershire women play their only stand-alone game of the whole season at New Road, raising questions of the county’s commitment to equality

New Road Worcester on a sunny late Spring Sunday afternoon, with the cathedral bells chiming every hour of time frittered away watching the glorious game of cricket, must be one of the most wonderful, life-affirming, even transcendental experiences known to humans.

The Women’s Vitality T20 Blast (Division 2) can indeed be a most pleasing competition too – where the battle is between a mixture of youngsters (all eager for a step on the first rung of the ladder towards professionalism and cricketing glory), plus county stalwarts, (still playing for the love of the game whilst also pursuing careers that pay their bills) and loan signings from division one, (willing to use the match to send a signal in the direction of their county that they should be playing more regularly).

It was one such loan player, Rebecca Duckworth of Yorkshire, who sent a very strong signal towards Headingley after showing herself to be the most accomplished player on the pitch today, as Derbyshire, to whom she has been loaned, eased past Worcestershire thanks to her 60 not out, finishing with a flourish of boundaries in the 17^th over of this slightly pedestrian low-scoring non-thriller of a game.

Derbyshire won the toss and invited Worcestershire to bat. The early dismissal of opener Elicia Pollard, brought in from Yorkshire Academy for the duration of the Blast season, meant that Bryony Gillgrass was joined by England under 19 team mate Sophie Beech. This is the partnership that needed to work for Worcestershire if they were going to construct a challenging total – and for five overs it looked good. Beech was the more aggressive player, hitting four boundaries early on, whereas Gillgrass was more cautious, unafraid of accumulating dots as she looked to build a long innings. 

As soon as the powerplay was over, first Beech, then Gillgrass were dismissed, creating a pattern for the game, where batters came in, struggled to hit runs, and then got themselves out by trying to be more expansive. Perhaps Worcestershire’s most effective player was Sophia Mitchell, who scampered nine singles, hit three boundaries and then got herself out, deceived by Francesca Clarke’s slower ball. With 34 balls left at this point and having reached 86/5, Worcestershire stalled and only added 23 more runs. 109/9 from 20 overs appeared to be an inadequate total, and so it proved. 

Derbyshire lost their openers Tash Allen and Ria Fackrell quickly, Jess Beach and Caitlin Baker-Smith dismissing them in the first two overs. A third wicket fell as the powerplay came to an end, Frances Lonsdale edging behind to give Sophie Beech a smart catch behind from Meg Bishop. It was at this point that Worcestershire needed to press home their advantage.

Unfortunately for Worcestershire, Rebecca Duckworth’s arrival resulted in the game gradually slipping out of their grasp. Slowly to start with, but with increasing confidence and momentum, Duckworth and Lauren Kenvyn took the game away from Worcestershire. 

This defeat leaves a feeling that something has changed for Worcestershire over the course of this season. Having had a few pleasing results in the One Day Cup, the transition to T20 cricket has been a tricky one, producing three sub-par batting performances against Leicestershire in the County Cup, Northants and now Derbyshire in the Blast, alongside an Ebony Tweats inspired win against Leicestershire in the Blast on 22^nd May.

One observation I have is to ask the question “How valued are the Worcestershire women’s team by Worcestershire County Cricket Club?” Today’s game is the only stand-alone women’s game to be played at New Road this season. Their next Blast game will be at a local club ground, then there is a double header at New Road, followed by fixtures at various small club grounds across Worcestershire. This is a big change from last season and one which leaves a sense of the women’s team being undervalued and treated unequally compared with the men’s team.

Worcestershire will next play against Kent at Canterbury on Friday afternoon – a match in which they will hope to score heavily and to win. Derbyshire are away at Middlesex next Sunday.