Richardson ‘frustrated’ by Worcestershire collapse but praises Sanderson
Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson was left 'disappointed and frustrated' by his side's third-day collapse in their innings-and-177 run defeat against Northants at the County Ground on Sunday.
But the Pears boss was also full of praise and admiration for the County's match-winner with the ball, Ben Sanderson.
After seeing their first innings total of 306 be dwarfed by Northants' mammoth 597 for seven declared, Worcester set about batting out the rest of the match to try and salvage a draw.
They looked to be digging in as Gareth Roderick (33) and Adam Hose (33) steered them to 88 for two in the 31st over.
But Sanderson bowled Hose to spark a dramatic collapse, with Worcester losing their final eight wickets for just 26 runs in 14 overs as they were bowled out for 114.
Sanderson, who took six for seven in a devastating spell, ended with seven for 31 to leave Worcestershire licking their wounds after a humbling defeat.
“I’m incredibly disappointed and frustrated, as are the whole changing-room," said Richardson..
"It was a really tough day, it hasn’t been a fair representation of us over the last three days and it’s amazing how quickly a game can change.
“Looking at the way Gareth (Roderick) and Adam (Hose) had played, they worked incredibly hard to get that 50 partnership and we’d scrapped away as we have done many times before.
"The momentum swung really quickly and we couldn’t stop that.
“The attitude and energy in the field was really good, but I think essentially the skills were not where we would like them to be for this game.
"We have to take this one on the chin and move forward.”
And on Sanderson, the Worcestershire coach added: "We know the threat Ben carries and that was a match-winning performance.
"He’s been doing it for quite a while, not just in this performance but over a number of years and I think we have to admire that it was a really good, challenging spell."
The defeat was a second of the season for Worcestershire, who will be aiming to bounce back when they entertain high-flying Durham at New Road on Friday.