Kashif guides Pears to victory over Durham

Kashif Ali has now hit fifties in three successive innings to go past 600 runs for the season

Vitality County Championship Division One, Seat Unique Riverside (day three)

Durham 190: Stokes 56; Smith 4-36 & 152: Ackermann 40; Taylor 4-48, Smith 4-52

Worcestershire 112: Kashif Ali 55; Potts 4-29 & 231-4: Kashif Ali 76*, Hose 50

Worcestershire (19 pts) beat Durham (3 pts) by six wickets

Match scorecard

Half-centuries from Kashif Ali and Adam Hose led Worcestershire to a six-wicket win against Durham to claim their first County Championship victory of the season.

Kashif, who made an unbeaten 76, and Hose (50) came together when the visitors were 65-3 and combined for a 129-run stand which took the game away from the hosts, who had been firmly in the ascendancy prior to lunch on day three.

Worcestershire wrapped up the Durham second innings early on for 152 when on-loan Ben Allison lured Bas de Leede into an edge to slip to leave the Pears needing 231.

Gareth Roderick initially struggled against Ben Raine, before punching Matthew Potts down the ground for four and following up with a glorious cover drive in England Test skipper Ben Stokes’ opening over.

Jake Libby then survived an lbw appeal from Peter Siddle and Roderick nearly chopped a Stokes delivery onto his stumps.

Durham made the breakthrough when Stokes got Roderick for 38, as he attempted a pull but feathered it through to wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson.

Libby went for 19, whipping a Siddle ball to mid-wicket to swing the momentum back to the hosts, then Stokes bowled Rob Jones with an absolute beauty to leave Worcestershire 65-3.

First-innings top scorer Kashif and Hose then took the visitors through to lunch without further loss.

The pair hit 12 from a de Leede over to reach their 50 partnership, before Kashif survived an lbw shout on 33 off Siddle when the umpire thought there was an inside edge.

An erratic over from Stokes went for 15 to add to Durham’s woes before Kashif reached his half-century, then Hose followed soon after.

Raine finally broke the partnership when Hose was caught behind with 37 still needed, but Ethan Brookes came in to hit 20 to help Kashif guide the Pears home.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell told BBC Radio Newcastle:

“I’m probably as disappointed as I’ve been since I’ve been at the club. There is no easy day in this competition and that’s the beauty of it. We had our opponents on their knees and we just couldn’t deliver the knockout blow.

"You’ve got to give credit to Worcestershire as they’ve been through so much over this year. For them to band together and find a way to come back and win, you’ve just got to take your hat off and say congratulations.”

“Kashif Ali is a really good player. He showed that in the first innings. He got together with Adam Hose. He just battled and found a way and showed that if you can just hang in there long enough, you’re going to cause problems with just 231 up your sleeve.

“I would have thought that David Bedingham will be in the cotton wool basket for a while. He is going for a scan. The physio’s first thought is that it could be a nick of the tendon which is something we’ve seen with Stan McAlindon and he’s been out for six to eight weeks. Fingers crossed it’s not as bad as we think and that he’ll be ok, firstly for South Africa as that’s the priority for him, but so we can see him again in the T20 Blast and County Championship.”

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson told BBC Hereford and Worcester:

"It was certainly one we needed, but I've been banging the drum for some time that we've been playing really good cricket. We' ve played against some very good sides when, at times, we haven't been as good as we'd have liked and they've punished us.

“It’s been a struggle of a year and when you’ve gone so long without winning, you doubt yourselves a little but I’m immensely proud of the boys. To play as well as we have - and with as much spirit - it was nice to get over the line.

“Kash has been fantastic since he joined us. Primarily his strength has been white ball but he has worked incredibly hard on red ball. He started the season with back-to-back hundreds against Warwickshire, which was unfortunate as we only drew.

"But to get two fifties on this pitch and against this attack is an amazing effort in a winning cause. We asked for a big partnership and a couple of players to stick their hand up and be there at the end and Kash did that, ably supported by Adam."