Mohammad Abbas was the wrecker-in-chief against Worcestershire in the County Championship Division 2. Playing for Derbyshire, just a couple of weeks after he bagged a Player of the Series award during Pakistan’s England Test tour, Abbas drew first blood by sending Daniel Lategan packing.
Lategan had gotten off to a flying start, scoring 26 off 22 balls, including four fours. This was soon followed by another dismissal off an Abbas delivery, sending Rehaan Edavalath back in the eleventh over. After this wicket, however, Worcestershire managed to frame a comeback as Jake Libby and Adam Hose built a fifty-run stand between them.
The partnership was broken by Amit Basra, who got the better of Hose in the 28th over, which was the start of the hosts’ unravelling against Derbyshire pacers. Abbas and Luis Reece divided the prey between themselves as Worcestershire fell from 104 for 4 to 139 for 7. Reece got rid of skipper Brett D’Oliveira, who scored a formidable 82 against Durham in the last game, after his only ten-minute stay on the field. This wicket should have been as much Matthew Montgomery’s as it was Reece’s, as the former took a spectacular catch to remove the Worcestershire skipper.
Following that, it was Libby who became the Pakistan national’s third wicket of the day as the ball breached through his defences and landed on the stumps.
Abbas completes five-wicket haul
The collapse continued exhibiting its aftershocks as Worcestershire batters found it more difficult to score off the two bowlers. Reece got Matthew Waite to play a mistimed drive, which was caught by Nick Potts at deep extra cover. Abbas then accounted for Henry Cullen, trapping him LBW for 15, and by the time the in-form Abbas struck again, Worcestershire were in further trouble.
There was some late-innings resistance, largely from Tom Taylor, who scored 39 off 56 balls, and Fateh Singh, who added 25 crucial runs for the last wicket. Abbas completed his five-wicket haul, his 59th in first-class cricket and first in this season, by ending Ben Gibbon’s stay. He bowled the most overs, 17 in total, during the first innings, five more than the next on the list, Reece, who bowled 12.
Worcestershire ended their innings with 214 on the board.
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