THE elements came to Worcestershire CCC’s rescue in a rain-affected draw against rivals Worcestershire in the County Championship at New Road.
The Pears were on the brink of defeat with the home side on 181-8 in their second innings chasing 327 for victory.
However, rain washed out the final 47 overs of play ensuring the Pears came away with a share of the spoils.
The result means Worcestershire remain bottom of the County Championship Division One table.
Warwickshire won the toss and elected to bat only to lose opener Rob Yates (3) in the second over.
However, solid knocks from Sam Hain (86), Tom Latham (59) and Alex Davies (21) propelled the Bears past the 150-run mark.
The wicket of Hain sparked a dramatic collapse as the Bears slumped from 195-6 to 227 all out as Warwickshire lost their final five wickets for the addition of 32 runs.
Only Zen Malik (34) provided any late resistance with six Bears batters out for single-figure scores.
Tom Taylor (4-37) did the most damage with the ball while Ethan Brookes (2-33), Jacob Duffy (2-47) and Matthew Waite (2-71) all picked up two wickets apiece.
The Pears made a steady start in reply as openers Gareth Roderick (24) and Jake Libby (45) put on 64 runs for the opening wicket.
However, after the returning Chris Woakes (3-34) claimed the scalp of Henry Nicholls (8) the Pears stuttered to 88-5.
Only Kashif Ali (31) managed more than 20 runs of Worcestershire’s remaining batters with the Pears bowled out for 181.
An impressive spell from Chris Rushworth (4-37) proved the pick of the Bears bowlers.
Hain (89) starred with the bat again in Warwickshire’s second innings while Woakes (42) chipped in with some useful runs.
Ed Barnard (30) and Yates (29) also chipped in to help the Bears reach 280 all out as Duffy (5-75) claimed a five-for.
Worcestershire needed 327 runs for victory and went into the final day of play on 54-2.
However, the Pears found themselves in big trouble on 87-6 after Rushworth’s (3-30) removal of opener Roderick (37) sparked a collapse.
As the Bears sensed victory, Brookes (34) and Waite (44 not out) dug in to frustrate the visitors.
And the rain eventually arrived to wash out the remaining 47 overs of play with Worcestershire on 181-8.
Both teams take 11 points from the fixture with Worcestershire to now turn their attention to the T20 Blast season.
The Rapids travel to Lancashire Lightning on Thursday, May 29 with the game to start at 6.30pm at Old Trafford.
