Date-stamped : 07 May95 - 22:22 SUNLG: Essex v Worcestershire, Chelmsford, 7 May 1995 Newport and Moody add to Essex anguish - Steve Whiting Worcestershire (253) bt Essex (75) by 178 runs IT has not been a great week for Essex Man. On Thursday came the council elections, on Saturday West Ham lost and may still be relegated, and yesterday Essex were swept away by a landslide. Their defeat, even extermination, by 178 runs was their most em- phatic since they lost by 157 runs to Kent at Maidstone two years ago. Their total of 75 was only six more than their previous lowest - 69 against Derbyshire at Chesterfield in 1974. It is a blessing they do not have man of the match awards on Sun- days, for settling that distinction would have been the only con- test worthy of the name. It could have gone to a batsman - Tom Moody, who made 106 of Worcestershire`s total of 253. Equally, it could have just as easily have been claimed by Worcestershire`s one-time England seam bowler Phil Newport, whose five for 32 in an unbroken eight-over spell, was his best on a Sunday. Take Moody first. The tall West Australian cannot even make their Test side these days, which shows how good some of the others must be. Yesterday he opened the innings and for half an hour, while the ball was new, he and Phil Weston suffered Worcestershire`s only discomfort of the day. Hick went to fifty with three successive boundaries Young quick bowler Darren Cousins had them both edging airily through the space where a first slip would have been in proper cricket. But that was that. Cousins had his reward for eight overs of lively pace when he bowled Weston in the 11th over. Essex lived to regret it. All it did was to bring together Moody and Graeme Hick for a second wicket stand of 160 in 21 overs - and once the shine was gone it was all too easy. Hick went to fifty with three successive boundaries off spinner Peter Such and reached eighty off 73 balls, with eight fours and a six before holing out in the 31st over off Richard Pearson, the second off-spinner in Essex`s revamped bowling line up. But Moody went on and on. If an opener bats for most of the in- nings in this sort of cricket, you can be sure of a decent score. The tragedy for Essex was that Graham Gooch, the one man who could have done it for them, was run out for two. Moody was caught by Nasser Hussain bowled Such for 106 off the same number of balls, the second such dismissal in two successive deliveries. He hit seven fours and four sixes. On a pitch drying and wearing Essex needed Gooch, who has already made 482 championship runs in four knocks, to succeed. But Paul Prichard played Newport towards Gavin Haynes at midwicket, hesitated and then ran. Haynes dived, saved it and threw to Steven Rhodes who broke the wicket inches ahead of Gooch`s ar- rival. The Essex innings had hardly started, but already it was a good as over. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)