Joe Leach heroics inspire Pears
Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach inspired his team to a hat-trick of County Championship wins as Derbyshire crumbled to a humiliating innings and 42 run defeat in the Division Two match at Derby.
Leach, born in Stafford, took 5-32 in 13 overs to rip the heart out of Derbyshire’s second innings, the hosts shot out for 98 in 29.4 overs with only three batsmen getting to double figures.
Worcestershire had set up their charge to a third win of the season by scoring 92 from 17 overs earlier in the day, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore hitting a rapid 42 before Leach declared on 415-9 – a lead of 140, which proved more than enough.
Kohler-Cadmore struck two sixes in his 47-ball knock to make sure his team secured maximum batting points, although Derbyshire bowlers Shiv Thakor and Jeevan Mendis benefited from Worcestershire’s desire to score quickly as they finished with four wickets apiece.
One of Thakor’s scalps saw Daryn Smit pull off an impressive stumping standing up to the medium-pacer to send back Ed Barnard, but that proved the highlight of the final day for Derbyshire who were in tatters by lunch as the top order disintegrated.
Barnard started the decline when he had Ben Slater caught chipping tamely to midwicket, before trapping Thakor lbw and then produced a direct hit from cover to run out Luis Reece, who was batting with a runner because of a badly bruised ankle.
Tony Palladino went down swinging, hitting Nathan Lyon for three sixes.
But the Australian had the last word when he had him caught at deep midwicket.
