Worcestershire’s outstanding efforts across four-days weren’t quite enough to secure victory, as Hampshire battled through the final day to salvage a draw, as the Pears returned to Visit Worcestershire New Road with 16-hard earned points.
After two record breaking days with the bat, Worcestershire set their opponents a mammoth target of 679 to stay in the contest.
Followed up by bowling Hampshire out for 221 on Day Three, the visitors required seven-wickets for a famous win on the last day, but only Callum Parkinson could force a breakthrough during the morning session.
On the stroke of lunch, Liam Dawson and Ben Brown came together on a lifeless surface to bat through until 5pm as both sides shook hands with Worcestershire unable to force anymore breakthroughs and alter Hampshire’s total of 294-4.
Worcestershire arrived at Utilita Bowl on Wednesday morning, delighted by the sight of cloud cover and the floodlit playing surface, as their quest for seven Hampshire wickets was due to commence.
Adam Finch started his side’s hunt for early wicket, continuing his aggressive spell from the evening session the day prior.
With the pitch seeming to flatten out, neither Ben Allison or Tom Taylor were able to extract any seam movement in the face of some staunch defence from Ben Brown and Tilak Varma.
The pair brought up their side’s 100 in the 45th over of the innings, before Callum Parkinson was introduced into the attack during the latter stages of the morning session.
It was Parkinson, who broke the 67-run stand for Hampshire, when, with men around the bat, Parkinson got one to turn, catching the inside-edge of Tilak’s bat and looping into the hands of Ethan Brookes at short-leg, sparking scenes of jubilation as the visitors had Hampshire four wickets down and still trailing by in excess of 300 runs.
Liam Dawson came to the crease as a consequence and saw his side through to lunch unscathed with Brown the other not-out batter.
The pair continued their stubborn rearguard, as opportunities became few and far between for the visitors, still searching for one more breakthrough to expose the Hampshire tail.
As the sun re-appeared, even the introduction of Ethan Brookes into the attack could not break the staunch defences.
Hampshire made their way to 236-4, on a docile wicket, where the best chance of the afternoon came in the 100th over of the innings, when Parkinson got a ball to spin off the bat of Ben Brown, flicking off the glove of Gareth Roderick, before fizzing up into the head of Ben Allison at slip – with such a difficult opportunity tough to label even as a dropped catch.
Dawson and Brown continued their substantial partnership, as they batted on to raise their 150 partnership as the clock ticked past 4:30pm, with Ben Brown completing a 257-ball-100 in the process.
With a result fading away from Worcestershire as the afternoon phased into the evening, the relentless work from the visitors who had been in the field for just over two days could not be faulted, as the pressed on admirably on a now lifeless wicket.
When 5pm arrived, unsurprisingly, Captain Jake Libby opted to shake the hands of the not-out Hampshire batters, settling for a draw, with the hosts resolute for their second innings total of 294-4, still 164 runs behind and the game heading to an inevitable conclusion.
After two record breaking days with the bat, the Pears can count themselves unfortunate not to be able to press on during the final day, but in testing conditions that always favoured the batters, taking 16 points crucial points back to Visit Worcestershire New Road was by no means a disappointment.
