Worcestershire’s relegation from the Rothesay County Championship was confirmed on day three of their clash against Durham, even though Gareth Roderick and Ethan Brookes produced outstanding centuries. The Pears’ failure to secure a third batting point sealed their fate, while Durham continued to search for vital points in their own survival battle.
Roderick Holds Firm with a Composed 151
After a rain-delayed start, Roderick resumed unbeaten on 95 and soon reached his first century of the season, compiled off 180 deliveries. Partnering with nightwatchman Ben Gibbon, he frustrated Durham bowlers on a flat pitch.
“𝑹𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆, 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒎’𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒚,” 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Gibbon eventually fell lbw to Shafiqullah Ghafari for 33, handing the Afghan spinner his maiden Durham wicket. By then, Worcestershire had crossed 400, with Roderick and Brookes guiding the innings.
Brookes Joins the Party with Second Ton of Season
Brookes capitalized on multiple reprieves, surviving dropped catches before lifting Ghafari for the game’s first six. He reached his fifty from 86 balls and pressed on to a fine century off 130 deliveries.
“𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒎 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅,” 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅.
Roderick eventually fell for 151, trapped lbw by Sam Conners, who struck again to dismiss Matthew Waite cheaply. Brookes later perished for 100, bowled by Matthew Potts, but not before lifting the team total beyond 500.
Tom Taylor added valuable lower-order runs, finishing unbeaten on 64 alongside Ben Allison (10*), as Worcestershire closed the day on 593 for 9.
Despite the batting heroics, Worcestershire’s relegation was officially confirmed, ending their top-flight hopes.
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