First Championship Match

The Pears' first Liverpool Victoria County Championship Division 2 match is against our local rivals, Warwickshire, starting on Wednesday 16th April.

It is impossible to say what the Worcester team will be, but I am going to stick my neck out and predict the following XI:

Daryll Mitchell
Stephen Moore
Vikram Solanki *
Ben Smith
Graeme Hick
Steven Davies +
Gareth Batty
Kabir Ali
Simon Jones
Steve Magoffin
Gareth Andrew

The biggest doubt is whether Matthew Mason will be fit. If he is, there is every chance he will play instead of Gareth Andrew, but he has performed impressively in the friendlies, especially against Essex where he claimed a couple of wickets. I can see the batting line up being fairly steady, with Mitchell stepping in for the previously underachieving Phil Jaques.

Warwickshire Preview

A surprise relegation last year, they will be keen to bounce back up. With new director of cricket, Ashley Giles, at the helm there is no lack of experience in the dressing room. It is still unclear as to whether Bell and Ambrose will play any part. Have invested wisely, Ian Salisbury and new coach Allan Donald will add experience, whilst Boyd Rankin is a promising bowler. Beneficiary Michael Powell will look to impress.

Last time around. . .

When we played at Edgbaston last year, the match summed up our season really. A winning draw, a promising batting performance that still failed to get maximum bonus points and a match ultimately decided by the weather. A slow century from Stephen Moore was backed up by contributions (of no greater than 50) from Jaques, Solanki, Hick, Smith and Kabir. Their first innings was a rare one - in that Doug Bollinger took 4 wickets - a quarter of his haul for the whole season.

Prediction. . .

Depends a lot on whether Bell and Ambrose play. If they do, then a high scoring draw is potentially the best we can hope for. However, if Kabir and Simon Jones have their boots strapped on correctly then it could be the start of a very special season indeed. . .