County Championship: Worcestershire bat out draw with Yorkshire

Jake Libby passed 50 for the 20th time in 40 first-class matches for Worcestershire

Yorkshire at least finally found a way of getting out both Worcestershire nightwatchmen-openers Adam Finch and Ben Gibbon - but they were still denied victory at New Road.

Despite a first-innings lead of 165, the Tykes were thwarted by the weather and Worcestershire's regular openers Jake Libby and Gareth Roderick.

In a game that lost 130 overs over the course of four days, any outside hopes Yorkshire had were denied by an unbroken 110-run third-wicket partnership between stand-in skipper Libby and Roderick.

Libby, Worcestershire's leading run-scorer this summer, made 61 not out to take his season's tally to 701, while Roderick ground out 34 in two and a quarter hours from 112 balls, to pass 6,000 runs in first-class cricket.

The home side began the day on 22-0 in their second innings, still 116 runs shy of avoiding an innings defeat.

But they were hopeful of surviving the day after the way numbers 10 and 11, Finch and Gibbon, had added 63 for the last first-innings wicket the previous evening, before seeing out nine more overs of the second innings when, having been asked to follow on, they were sent straight back out for a second dig.

It took a comic run-out to separate them a second time.

Only nine runs had been added when Gibbon turned Matthew Fisher to mid-wicket and Finch was short of his ground in the resulting mix-up.

Gibbon then pushed at first-innings five-wicket Yorkshire hero Ben Coad and was caught at first slip by George Hill, but that was as good as it got.

At 48-2, the players went off for bad light, quickly followed by a torrential downpour and a three-hour delay. And, when play eventually resumed Libby and Roderick firmly closed the door on the Tykes forcing a second Championship win of the season.

Both sides are back in Division Two action on Wednesday, when Yorkshire host Sussex at Headingley and Worcestershire take on Leicestershire at Oakham School.

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson:

"Was the weather the winner with so much time lost? Yorkshire will probably think that way because they had the upper hand for quite a bit.

"Yorkshire played some really good cricket the first two days and put us under a lot of pressure but we showed a lot of spirit, heart and fight to make sure we came out with a draw.

"When Adam Finch and Ben Gibbon got together, the game was very much going towards Yorkshire. They got the momentum. The fact those guys wrestled it back and put together a10th-wicket partnership, to strangle it away from them was a fantastic effort.

"We take pride in the fact we can bat all the way down and all the bowlers work incredibly hard on their contributions with the bat. That was absolutely vital in the outcome."

Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson:

"There's nothing you can do about the weather but it's another frustrating four days where we've played some really good stuff. We feel like, if we get four decent days, we've played well enough to have got a result.

"We've had a good week. We are missing Shan Masood and Dawid Malan but it is great to see the youngsters stepping up and making really good contributions.

"Finlay Bean has played really well for us this year and has gone from strength after having a really good winter in the indoor school.

"And any team that has got Matthew Fisher and Ben Coad leading the attack will be a good bowling attack. We don't always have them but when we do, they make our attack much better."