Worcestershire opener Brett D'Oliveira scored a match-winning century against Derbyshire in the One Day Cup yesterday (August 15), anchoring the innings in a 316-run chase.
D'Oliveira, who is the grandson of former England and Worcestershire batter Basil, came into the game off the back of a half-century in his previous outing against Hampshire, where he scored 52 in another win. Worcestershire currently sit in second position in the South group of the competition, having only lost one of their four matches so far.
They looked to be in for a steeper challenge against Derbyshire, however, who posted 315 all out batting first. Opener Caleb Jewell scored 113 off 107 balls, and No.3 Matthew Montgomery hit 92 off 82 as the two dominant performers in the innings. The side were bowled out with 17 balls of the innings remaining, leaving Worcestershire with a tough chase.
Match 30, Derbyshire vs Worcestershire
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That chase looked to get even tougher when they slipped to 11-2. Teenager Isaac Mohammed was dismissed for 8 in the third over of the innings, and Kashif Ali lasted just three balls, continuing his hit and miss start in the competition having scored a century and a half-century in his first two innings. Those wickets left two experienced campaigners, D'Oliveira and captain Jake Libby, to rebuild.
The pair put on a match-defining 183-run partnership, with D'Oliveira also reaching his second List A century. Rory Haydon was the bowler to finally break the partnership, sneaking through Libby's defences and castling him for 69. At that point in the innings, Worcestershire still need 124 runs to win and, when Ethan Brookes was dismissed for 9, it still looked a tough ask.
But, D'Oliveira took them to 40 runs from their target before he was finally dismissed for 138, leaving Daniel Lategan and Matthew Waite to get them over the line with 11 balls to spare. It was D'Oliveira's highest-ever List A score, coming in a four-wicket win.
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