<
>

Luke Fletcher claims career-best as Nottinghamshire crush winless Worcester

Luke Fletcher claimed six wickets Getty Images

Nottinghamshire 400 for 5 dec (Duckett 177*, Mullaney 88, James 78) beat Worcestershire 80 (Fletcher 7-37) and 150 (Libby 64, Paterson 4-49, Fletcher 3-20) by an innings and 170 runs

Luke Fletcher returned career-best figures for the second consecutive match as Nottinghamshire crushed winless Worcestershire by an innings and 170 runs to take maximum points and go top of Group One in the LV=Insurance County Championship.

Fletcher, the 32-year-old pace bowler, took 7 for 37 as Worcestershire were skittled for 80 in their first innings, ending with ten wickets in the match, another career first, as the visitors crumbled to 150 all out following on.

Only Jake Libby and Brett D'Oliveira offered anything close to meaningful resistance, Libby making 64 to go past 600 runs for the season - only Durham's David Bedingham has more.

But after he was dismissed by England's Stuart Broad the last seven Worcestershire wickets fell for 47, South African seamer Dane Paterson taking 4 for 49, his best figures for the county so far.

Nottinghamshire ended a barren run of almost three years without a Championship victory when they beat neighbours Derbyshire three weeks ago. Now they have won three in a row, completing this one inside two days after weather wrecked days one and two.

Worcestershire, reeling at 54 for 6 overnight, folded in 74 minutes this morning.

Fletcher, who took five wickets in 42 deliveries on Saturday evening, needed just eight more balls to record the second six-wicket haul of his career, the first having come against Essex only two weeks ago, producing a swinging delivery to nightwatchman Josh Tongue that took the outside edge. Just 10 balls later he was celebrating his maiden seven-for as Alzarri Joseph edged a drive. Fletcher would have had eight had Joe Clarke not dropped Joe Leach at first slip on five.

Broad, in his last appearance before England's Test series against New Zealand begins a week on Wednesday, claimed the last two wickets as Ben Cox chased a wide one and Dillon Pennington nicked to second slip.

Batting again, Worcester lost opener Daryl Mitchell before lunch as he nibbled at Fletcher to be caught behind for one. By tea, they were 114 for 4, Fletcher having struck twice more as Tom Fell clipped to short leg and Jack Haynes drove straight back to the bowler.

Broad's tactic of positioning five catchers on the leg side in a hostile spell to Libby paid off via a superb low catch by Paterson at square leg.

Paterson ended a gutsy effort by D'Oliveira via a leading edge to mid-off in a spell that saw him take four of the last five wickets to fall. Lyndon James had made his mark as Riki Wessels wafted at one outside off stump to be taken by second slip Ben Duckett, whose unbeaten 177 was the match-winning performance with the bat, while Broad removed Joseph to give him five in the match.

Worcs 3rd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st7DKH MitchellJD Libby
2nd56TC FellJD Libby
3rd0JD LibbyJA Haynes
4th40BL D'OliveiraJD Libby
5th21MH WesselsBL D'Oliveira
6th5OB CoxBL D'Oliveira
7th7BL D'OliveiraAS Joseph
8th0J LeachAS Joseph
9th13J LeachJC Tongue
10th1J LeachDY Pennington

County Championship

Division 1
TeamMWLDPT
NOTTS431068
LANCS421157
WARKS421156
HANTS421153
YORKS412140
SOM404014
Division 2
TeamMWLDPT
ESSEX430177
GLOUC431064
DURH311140
NHNTS412138
SUR301227
GLAM403123
Division 3
TeamMWLDPT
KENT440083
MIDDX431067
WORCS422049
LEICS412143
DERBS412142
SUSS404018
Group 1
TeamMWLDPT
NOTTS10424151
WARKS10415145
DURH10325132
ESSEX10325129
WORCS10136109
DERBS1005572
Group 2
TeamMWLDPT
SOM10415148
HANTS10424145
GLOUC10532131
SUR10226123
LEICS10244111
MIDDX1027184
Group 3
TeamMWLDPT
LANCS10415150
YORKS10514149
GLAM10226127
NHNTS10334123
KENT1003797
SUSS1015494