Date-stamped : 14 Sep97 - 06:10 Weston and Moody point way ahead By Peter Roebuck at Worcester First day of four: Worcester-shire 400-4 v Derbyshire SEIZING upon some amiable spin bowling and heavy-footed field- ing, Worcestershire have taken charge of this match. And un- til lunch the contest between bat and ball was tight, as Reuben Spiring and Graeme Hick fell in the securing of 94 runs upon a surface turning slowly. Afterwards, though, the visitors seemed to have other things on their mind, presumably the endless arguments turning their club into a Feud`s Corner. It hardly seems discreet for such a small club to lose John Morris, Peter Bowler and Chris Adams hot upon heels. It is time mat- ters were resolved between surviving senior players and com- mittee. Stew- art Edwards, secretary, has become the latest ca- sualty of this headstrong warfare. Meanwhile, Dominic Cork has been made captain with Karl Krikken as his deputy, quelling rumours that the gloveman in- tended fleeing to Wales. Andy Hayhurst rises without trace and con- tinues to serve as director of cricket. For their part, the hosts announced the appointment of Bill Athey as coach for 1998 and beyond, a remarkable choice be- cause the painstaking Yorkshireman is unproven as leader or ad- viser. Affairs upon the field were much less intriguing. Devon Mal- colm was at his worst, Cork was tidy and Phil DeFreitas, still leading the side, felt inclined to try his off-breaks. Accordingly, it fell to Andrew Harris to take the first wick- et, confounding Spiring with a skidder. Hick might have depart- ed next ball had a sharp return catch been held. Instead, he fell on the stroke of lunch, chopping a spinner on to his stumps. Hereafter, it was mostly Worcestershire as Tom Moody and Phil Weston fed upon a diet of spin. Both men are built like ladders yet both attack off the back foot. Watchfulness was Weston`s byword until he widened his range in late afternoon, whereupon he dominated in great style. Moody lofted powerfully off the back foot and was aghast to lose his wicket upon reaching his hundred, cutting on to his stumps. Cork now produced the spell of the day during which Gavin Haynes was uprooted and Weston was dropped twice. Weston and David Leatherdale took complete command of distracted oppo- nents as Worcester- shire moved towards a fifth victory. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) No respite for Derbyshire By Peter Roebuck at Worcester Second day of four: Derbys (223) trail Worcs (554-8 dec) by 331 runs DERBYSHIRE`S disembowelment continues against hosts pleased to find themselves riding so high. Struck around the field through- out a chillier second morning, the visitors duly collapsed in the face of honest bowling from a willing opponent. Not even a forthright partnership between Karl Krikken and Matthew Cassar eased sus- picions that Derbyshire were doomed. Cassar continued swinging boldly, but Derbyshire`s finished 331 behind and were obliged to follow on. It is hard to stop the rot once it sets in. No sooner had play resumed, than Derbyshire`s woes deepened as Philip Weston and David Leatherdale sustained their lively combination. Weston pulled and off-drove handsomely, whilst his colleague cut with scything power against pacemen determined to pound the pitch`s midriff. Not until he reached 188 did Western err, edging as he pushed forwards, whereupon his sprightly team-mate omitted to move his feet against Devon Malcolm. Thereafter, Worcestershire bobbled along until the declaration came soon after lunch. Having lost most of their senior bats- men, and facing such a daunting total, Derbyshire were soon in trouble, losing Dominic Cork as he sliced a drive to gully. Steve Stubbings soon followed, caught behind as he pushed for- wards at Gavin Haynes` crafty swingers, and then Kim Barnett`s nervous prod gave Alamgir Sheriyar his 55th wicket of the season. With the score on 51, Vince Clarke drove obligingly to short cover and 33 runs later Tim Tweats charged down the pitch under the mis- taken impression that Steve Rhodes had missed his take. Derbyshire were not so much surrendering as subsiding. Now, they decided to go down with guns blazing. Accordingly, Krikken repeatedly carted Hick towards a nearby pavilion while Cassar swept Richard Illingworth over the midwicket boundary. Derbyshire careered along cheerfully until Sheriyar returned to remove Krikken. Soon afterwards Hick took his first first-class wick- et of the season and the innings ended amidst a flurry of ambitious blows. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Lacey and Krikken fight on By Peter Roebuck at Worcester Third day of four: Derbys (223 & 364-8) lead Worcs (554-8 dec) by 33 runs DERBYSHIRE are not going down without a fight. Helped by butter- fingered fielding and erratic bowling they rallied to such an extent that Worcestershire are obliged to bat again. While Kim Barnett and Tim Tweats were an enterprising occupa- tion something beyond honourable defeat seemed possible. At last, though, the spinners struck a length and it took a bois- terous ninth- wicket partnership between Karl Krikken and Simon Lacey to lift the match into a fourth day. Resuming at nought for nought, the visitors reached 62 before losing a clatter of wickets including Steve Stubbins, as he moved across his stumps, and Andrew Harris, driving a slower ball to cover af- ter reaching his highest score in this compa- ny. Between times Graeme Hick, who finished the day with four wickets, had again removed Do- minic Cork as he drove loosely. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Worcestershire (554-8 dec & 72-0) beat Derbyshire (223 & 402) by 10 wkts Worcestershire closed their home programme with a 10-wicket trouncing of Derbyshire. They needed only 100 minutes to wrap up a fifth win of the season despite unexpected Derbyshire resistance in a century partner- ship for the ninth wicket by Karl Krikken and Simon Lacey. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)