County Championship: Worcestershire still to secure promotion after draw with Durham

Both of Durham skipper Scott Borthwick's two centuries this summer have come against Worcestershire

Worcestershire are still to secure a return to the top flight after drawing their rain-affected County Championship match with already promoted Division Two champions Durham.

Following the loss of so much play in this game, the Pears could only pick up one final-day bowling point as Durham, 10-0 overnight, batted out time, led by an unbeaten century from skipper Scott Borthwick, to reach 371-4 from 71 overs.

That leaves the Pears still needing two points to secure a record seventh Championship promotion - and a return to the top flight for the first time since 2018.

They are 22 points clear of Leicestershire, who drew with Yorkshire.

Worcestershire's final game is against Yorkshire, starting at Headingley on Tuesday, when Durham host Leicestershire.

But the next deciding factor if teams finish level on points is 'most wins'. And the fact that Worcestershire (5) are already guaranteed to have won more games than Leicestershire (3), whatever the outcome of next week's matches, means that just two more points will suffice.

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A day after securing the second division title, Durham captain Borthwick showed his penchant for Pears as he repeated his century against Worcestershire in his side's opening win of the season at Chester-le-Street back in April.

He hit 134 not out, sharing a 159-run stand with Ollie Robinson, who weighed in with 84, while prolific opener Alex Lees went past 50 for the 10th time in the Championship this season.

England opener Lees made 60 - his lowest first-innings score since the Championship resumed on 11 June after its first early-season break.

But his run of scores in Durham's last seven matches has still been amazing: 62, 101, 145, 195, 22, 171, 65*, 103, 26* and 60.

Lees, the country's leading run maker with 1,341, and his fellow Durham batters, may still have a part to play in the promotion race, however, as they now face the third-placed Foxes.

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson:

"It was frustrating to miss so much of the game through rain, but ultimately we put in a pretty good performance.

"Whilst it didn't go as would have liked, we had some really nice partnerships. Gareth Roderick and Jake Libby up the top. To score over 300 and get those two points was really pleasing for us.

"We go to Headingley with intent to try and win the game first and foremost, but to pick up as many bonus points as we can.

"If we do that, and concentrate on doing that, the game will look after itself."

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell:

"You try and skip all the pressure parts of the last game, so we can leave that to Worcestershire and Leicestershire to deal with all that.

"The squad has been really impressive. We've had some stand-out performers, which you do need in a Championship year but as a group they've all grown magnificently and next year should be a really good challenge for them.

"What we set out to do was to become one of the best teams in the country and to do that you've got to get into Division One first of all, and then you've got to show to the rest of the country that you are good enough to be there, and not just survive.

"We are going there to try and win the title. We are really excited with our signings in Colin Ackermann and Matt Parkinson and that's going to add depth to our squad."