Cricket: Tolley short of his dues as bat is flung: Positive Worcestershire go unrewarded

Derbyshire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188 and 178-6

Worcestershire. . . . . . . . . . . . .302

Match drawn

ALL THE positive cricket here yesterday was played by one side, Worcestershire, who did their best to enliven yet another cold, grey day by attempting to squeeze a victory from a match which had lost two days to the weather.

They flung the bat cheerfully in the morning, then left themselves two sessions in which to bowl out Derbyshire a second time: ambitious, perhaps, but on this pitch and, given the home side's current shortage of form and confidence, not entirely out of the question. Just after tea five wickets had gone, and Derbyshire were only one run ahead.

The ball moved off the seam, sometimes lavishly, and once Tom Moody had broken an opening partnership of 60 between Peter Bowler and Adrian Rollins, Derbyshire suffered a series of mishaps which probably owed as much to lapses in concentration as the conditions.

Importantly, among these was Mohammad Azharuddin, who was leg before on the back foot to Chris Tolley for the second time in the game. After Phil Newport had prised out Bowler, no one suggested permanency and there was a good deal of playing and missing as the last hour arrived with Derbyshire only 38 ahead with four wickets remaining.

The seventh-wicket pair, Karl Krikken and Frank Griffith, however, played much straighter and with more discretion than some of their predecessors - which was not too difficult - while still being able to pick off anything loose. Worcestershire finally gave up the struggle when this pair had stretched the lead to 64 with 14 overs remaining.

Earlier, after Worcestershire had opted to pursue the old- fashioned route to victory rather than declare behind and allow Derbyshire back into contention, Tolley confirmed his growing maturity as a batsman with some robust blows which took him past 50. He went past his previous highest first-class score of 78 and was within 16 of a maiden century when, to his dismay, he failed to control a square cut.

Throughout all this, Derbyshire's bowlers yet again found length and line elusive, even on a pitch rewarding bowling which kept the ball up to the bat, none more so than Devon Malcolm, who has yet to find any consistency.