County Championship: Worcestershire pick up point to secure promotion back to Division One

Worcestershire have been promoted back to Division One of the County Championship - for a record seventh time.

Aided by skipper Brett D'Oliveira completing his century, Alan Richardson's side scored the 20 runs needed to pass 300 against Yorkshire early on the second morning at Headingley to pick up the second batting bonus point required to edge out third-placed Leicestershire.

Alongside already crowned Division Two champions Durham, the Pears will be back playing top flight cricket again next season for the first time since being relegated for a sixth time - also a record - in 2018.

It is six years to the day since they were last promoted in 2017.

Skipper D'Oliveira missed out on the opportunity to hit the promotion-sealing run when, with just one needed, he was out leg before wicket to Matt Milnes for 103.

The honour was passed instead to young spinner Josh Baker, who clipped two runs off Milnes.

Baker then holed out just a ball later to earn Milnes a second wicket before on-loan Essex all-rounder Ben Allison brought up his first-class best score of 75.

He added 79 with Joe Leach (36) before the last three Worcestershire wickets went down in the space of 15 balls as the Pears were bowled out for 389.

Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and Fin Bean moved to 24-0 in their first innings, but just one over was possible after lunch as Storm Agnes arrived in Leeds to end play for the day.

Worcestershire already held the record for the most promotions since the County Championship became a two-division structure in 2000.

Their total of six was already one better than Nottinghamshire (five), while Essex, Lancashire and Northants have all done it four times.

But this seventh success, six years on from doing it for the last time under former boss Steve Rhodes in 2017, is their longest between promotions.

It is also perhaps the most surprising, given all that has gone on behind the scenes over the past year or more, in the continued battle to keep ahead financially in the period following the Covid pandemic.

Coach Alex Gidman left last winter, to be replaced by his deputy Richardson - and the club had to wait a long time before finally tempting former Warwickshire and England boss Ashley Giles to arrive as chief executive.

They have also been hit by the announced departure of several players, most notably England paceman Josh Tongue, fellow fast bowler Dillon Pennington and batter Jack Haynes to Nottinghamshire.

But all three - along with another former Pears player Joe Clarke at Notts - will now be on the same stage as Worcestershire next season.

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson:

"It has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster at times with everything that's gone on. But the lads in the squad have held themselves brilliantly well, have not been distracted and shown some remarkable resilience.

"You hoped that they could go on and achieve the red-ball goal we set out at the start of the season, and they deserve it. What is the key to a successful season? I don't think we can point to one thing if I'm honest, but the boys have been really together.

"We've probably had a bit of luck at times, which we've not always had. Certainly, in the red-ball game at the start of the year, our task was made a little bit easier with weather conditions. But we still had to put in some amazing shifts, which we did against Leicestershire at home and Sussex at home, to either win or save games.

"We get lots of challenges, and they come in different guises and different form - but the boys dealt with it brilliantly well.

"It did have an impact, but the guys ensured the distraction side of it all had a minimal effect. It's full credit to the players who are staying, but also the ones that are not going to be around, that they've all bought in and shown a lot of commitment and really put a shift in for us."These things can derail you, but I'm always someone who looks at things and thinks you can dwell on them, and you can let them make a negative impact, or you can turn them around and see it as another challenge."

Worcestershire captain Brett D'Oliveira:

"I was extremely disappointed to get out with us needing that one run to get us promoted. But life goes on. These things happen. I was just glad I contributed. And Josh Baker said he'd done his job. He said it was the best two he's ever scored.

"It's an amazing feeling. It's something that we've been working really hard towards. You have to keep going to the well. But the boys have been tremendous.

"It's not just the XI who take the field. There's a lot of hard work which goes on behind the scenes, the ground staff and the amazing work they put in. It's really pleasing to reward the club with promotion.

"If you look in the past we've gone up and come back down. The challenge is to go up and stay up. It's something myself and Alan Richardson will sit down and discuss over the next few weeks."