By D J Rutnagur at Worcester

First day of four: Worcestershire (49-1) trail Essex (257) by 208 runs

AFTER a week in which so much of the Midlands was under water, New Road, with its reputation as a receptacle for the Severn's overspill, was the last place one would have expected a prompt start on the opening day of the championship season.

But it did come out and, what is more, in bright sunshine, though the strong wind blowing was so cold that umpire John Hampshire wore a woolly ski cap.

Paul Prichard, Essex's captain, obviously did not feel the chill, for he came out to open the innings in a short-sleeved shirt and, off the second ball of the match, played a shot that belonged to high summer rather than an Arctic day in mid-April a silken cover drive.

Graeme Hick, leading Worcestershire, would not have had his team's thanks for electing to field first and exposing them to the bitter wind, but the move was rewarded by Alamgir Sheriyar, operating into the wind, capturing two wickets in his first two overs.

Moreover, Essex were bowled out not long after tea for a moderate score, and that despite a delightful partnership of 113 for the third wicket between Nasser Hussain and Stuart Law, a forthright 41 by Ronnie Irani and a lively 53 by Paul Grayson.

Worcestershire captured the last five wickets for only 14 runs in 6.2 overs, which was not bad going for a side reckoned to have limitations to their attack and considering that the pitch was slow. Sheriyar, their main wicket-taker in 1997, had the biggest share of the spoils, four for 52, and Richard Illingworth, who missed most of last season, had a hand in the demolition of the lower order.

The events of the first half hour must have made Essex wish that Graham Gooch had not retired. Darren Robinson, poor man, was out to the first ball he received, one of full length that hit him on the boot. Prichard edged a drive.

However, batting seemed easy while Hussain and Stuart Law were in occupation. Indeed, they looked like men who had batted with profit until a few weeks ago. Hussain, having got his first run immediately on arrival, spent seven overs before playing his next scoring stroke.

But then runs flowed off his bat in drives, pulls and square cuts and there were 13 fours in his 68, made off 123 balls. Law's timing too was all sweetness and he had eight fours in his 45, an innings ended by a sliced drive off a swinging halfvolley from Phil Newport.

Day 2: Weston makes his way on merit

By Geoffrey Dean at Worcester

PHILIP WESTON was the only Worcestershire player, apart from Graeme Hick, to reach 1,000 championship runs last season when he made three hundreds - all after being dropped in July. Another was tantalisingly within reach yesterday as the 6ft 4in left-hander, 91 not out at tea, ushered his side towards a big first-innings lead against Essex, whose bowling was variable.

Bill Athey, David Houghton's successor as coach at New Road, clearly empathises with Weston. ``Top temperament, good attitude. Works very hard at his game,'' the former Sussex and England opener mused from the pavilion balcony during play. ``You have to be pleased for batsmen like him when they do well. They deserve their success.''

Athey was a surprise appointment to some after Tom Moody turned down the job of captain-coach. When the committee asked the Australian for his preference, he came up with Athey's name. ``I knew nothing about it until they contacted me,'' says Athey. ``I didn't really know Tom that well, although we always said hello to each other when we played together. I know he'd have put out feelers with those who did know me well, but it was still a surprise.''

Athey moves up from Sussex tomorrow with his wife and three dogs to a house with 10 acres some 20 miles west of Worcester. A countryman at heart, he is revelling in his new environment, drawing on his meticulous attention to detail to try to make a success of the job. ``I didn't realise how much paperwork there'd be, however,'' he confessed.

It was another brisk morning when his side resumed on 49 for one, 208 adrift of Essex's first-innings total. The batting had an unfamiliar look about it, lacking the absent Moody, the retired Tim Curtis and the injured Reuben Spiring. Down at No 6 was Abdul Hafeez, a 21-year-old debutant from the Birmingham league, signed just this week.

Acting captain Hick, aware of the responsibility that lay with him, sought to play himself in carefully, but having been unable to score off his first 21 balls of the morning - all from Mark Ilott - fell to his 22nd. Ilott got one to swing back in late, rapping Hick on a front pad planted not very far down the pitch.

Gavin Haynes was quickly away with two boundaries from on-side drives before he, too, became strokeless. For 51 balls he remained stuck on 20 before at last troubling the scorers again with a thick edge for four. Thereafter, he cast off his inertia to play with freedom, reaching his fifty from 119 deliveries and going on to post his highest championship score for four years, 86. His driving was a feature of his innings.

Essex paid heavily for dropping him when 32 - at third slip off Ronnie Irani. The stand with Weston was then worth only 50, and by the time Ashley Cowan bowled him off his pads, the pair had put on 171 in 49 overs.

Weston's innings was much more an exercise in accumulation, though his stroke-playing instincts occasionally surfaced with some meaty drives off a wayward Danny Law and a powerful pull off Cowan for six into the big hedge by the nets. Seven of Weston's 14 fours came in the space of just 10 ill-directed balls from Law.

Day 3: Hick's grip on Essex tightens

By D J Rutnagur at Worcester

Third day of four: Essex (257 & 148-3) trail Worcs (446) by 51 runs

THE CROWD enjoyed the capers of the two exiled Yorkshiremen, Steve Rhodes and Richard Illingworth, who scored 66 and 61 respectively, to increase Worcestershire's first-innings lead to 189. A stage came, however, when there was some grumbling about Graeme Hick, the surrogate captain, letting the innings run its course.

But there was no course open to Hick for it was always unlikely that Essex, left so far behind, would ever be in a position to set Worcester a run chase. Essex would also have been dissuaded through the depletion of their attack by an injury to the bowling arm of Mark Ilott which could keep him out of Essex's match against Sussex, beginning on Thursday.

Far from having let the match drift towards a draw, Worcester strengthened their grip. They were defied by openers Paul Prichard and Darren Robinson, who put on 58 but, after both were removed by Stuart Lampitt, Worcester made inroads.

Stuart Law came in and clumped two hearty and stylish legside blows but Phil Newport was brought back and at once induced an edge from Nasser Hussain.

Law and Ronnie Irani then got their heads down to deny Worcester further ground.

Day 4: Solanki lights up to see off Essex in gloom

By D J Rutnagur at Worcester

Worcs (446 & 122-4) bt Essex (257 & 310) by 6 wkts

VIKRAM SOLANKI, 22 and uncapped, was the hero of Worcestershire's frenzied chase of 122 in 15 overs, which was completed with three balls remaining and all five lamps of the light meter aglow.

Solanki, pitchforked into the role of opener because Reuben Spiring is injured, hit five sixes and two fours to score 53 off 26 balls. This took Worcestershire to within 19 runs of their target with 21 balls remaining.

Ronnie Irani bowled his heart out in the cause and took all four wickets that Essex, without their frontline bowlers Mark Ilott and Ashley Cowan, captured.

As the match stood overnight, with Essex 51 runs behind and three second-innings wickets lost, Worcestershire should have won comfortably with time to spare. If they were stretched to the final over, it was because two incursions by rain caused 27 overs to be lopped off.

However, to dwell on the weather's influence on the day's events would be to deny honour to the Essex tail for their gallant resistance. Between them, Mark Ilott, Ashley Cowan and Peter Such put on 51 for the last two wickets and consumed 21 overs.

The first stout barrier that Worcestershire had to batter down was the overnight partnership between Stuart Law, who scored 87, and Irani. This realised 111 and kept Worcestershire at bay until 18 minutes after lunch, taken early because of rain.

Alamgir Sheriyar won back the initiative for Worcestershire by taking four wickets in 12 balls without conceding a run. First, he induced an edge from Irani and then bent back Paul Grayson's leg stump with the next ball. His two other wickets were also seized with consecutive balls. Law, the Australian, was caught behind and his English namesake, Danny Law, at third slip. At that point, Essex were seven down and held a lead no larger than 37 runs.

Sheriyar further distinguished himself by taking a good catch at long on hoisted by Robert Rollins off Richard Illingworth. Rollins had batted soundly for 23, but his fatal shot was out of context with Essex's desperate position.

If fortune, in the guise of the weather, had smiled on Essex, she scowled at them when they went out to defend their lead over 15 overs. Cowan developed a spasm in delivering his first ball and left the field after bowling one over. This included two no balls and cost 19 runs, Solanki glancing him for four and Graeme Hick, who had promoted himself in the order, hooking a six.

Hick scored much as he liked and 47 runs were taken off 26 balls. Then Hick, who had made 25 off 19 balls, attempted to hit his third six with a pull at Irani, mistimed it and was caught by Nasser Hussain at midwicket.

Solanki picked up the broadsword of his fallen leader and luck was on his side. A miscued slash at Irani only just cleared deep backward point and sailed over the rope.

It was raining quite heavily now and Grayson, bowling opposite Irani, struggled to come to terms with a wet ball. Solanki hoisted him for two sixes. One was held by Hussain, but the catch was disallowed as he had made contact with the boundary fence.

In the ninth over, with the gap still 37 runs, Solanki lifted a drive to extra cover. Danny Law judged the catch well, but the greasy ball slipped out of his grasp and the intrepid escapee hit one more four, off Such, before Law made amends, holding another skier at long on. Irani raised a last frisson, dismissing David Leatherdale and Stuart Lampitt in the second from last over with nine wanted.