2021 County Championship – Durham vs Worcestershire Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Durham vs Worcestershire taking place? Thursday 13th May, 2021 – 11:00 (UK)
Where is Durham vs Worcestershire taking place? Emirates Riverside, Chester-le-Street
What is the expected weather for Durham vs Worcestershire? Dry for the first two days of the match with a weekend that is expected to have some intermittent, light showers
Where can I get tickets for Durham vs Worcestershire? The County Championship will initially be played without spectators but it is worth checking each county’s official website for updates
What channel is Durham vs Worcestershire on? This match will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream Durham vs Worcestershire? Matches can be streamed live on the official websites of the First-Class Counties
THE PREDICTION
The home side come into this on the back of a week off after they hammered Warwickshire a fortnight ago in a match in which Mark Wood returned to the Durham attack. An attack that already consisted of the impressive Brydon Carse and relentless Chris Rushworth was too much for the Bears in their first innings as Durham had them 30-8 before eventually bowling them all out for a total of 87. After that, another strong batting innings led by an opening partnership of 208 between Alex Lees and overseas batsman Will Young sealed the victory. A strong bowling attack and batting lineup in which their top four have all contributed centuries with David Bedingham leading the runs in county cricket so far this season.
They come up against a Worcestershire that are yet to win and yet to lose this season. Five consecutive draws to kick off the season, in which only one was majorly affected by the weather, is quite a remarkable start. Worcester have batted in five completed innings in which they weren’t stopped due to time running out and on all five occasions they have scored over 300 and on four occasions they have scored over 350. The form of Jake Libby has been impressive with two centuries and two half-centuries. However, despite having Alzarri Joseph in their bowling attack, they have conceded over 300 on five occasions including scores of 490-9d, 436, 561-8d as well as conceding 260 without loss against Nottinghamshire.
That bluntness in the Worcestershire attack is likely to remain as they come up against a Durham side playing good cricket and if any bowling attack is going to prevent Worcester from making big runs; it could well be the north eastern county. Given that, a home win seems a good bet for this one.
