WORCESTERSHIRE head coach Alan Richardson was "really impressed" with Brett D'Oliveira's decision to declare and go for the win against Durham, even if they did fall short in the end.
The Pears were set a 314 target in 70 overs after captain D’Oliveira had opened the chance of a positive result for both sides by declaring 59 runs behind in the first innings.
It was a decision that did not bring about a win for Worcestershire but Richardson respected the play made by his skipper.
READ MORE | Worcestershire come up short in attempts to salvage a draw at Durham
"I was really impressed with the way Brett went about it," he said.
"We wanted to get to 110 overs, get as many as we could, and then we were looking to declare and to try and apply some pressure.
"Durham wanted to do the same, so good declarations by both captains to set up a game."
Having been given 314 to win, Worcestershire lost their openers either side of lunch before Australian spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and Matthew Potts got to work with the ball for the hosts.
Azhar Ali and Haynes then began the recovery mission, both producing some eye-catching shots as the 50-partnership was brought up in 14 overs.
The stand was worth 73 when the introduction of Kuhnemann brought about three quick wickets and despite D'Oliveira'as battling 42, Worcestershire reached 166/9 with still 19 overs to play.
A battling 10th wicket stand between tail-enders Adam Finch (18 off 53) and Dillon Pennington (14 off 47) lasted 14 of the final 19 overs but Kuhnemann broke the partnership when he bowled Pennington to claim his fifth wicket.
"Dillon and Adam played very well and applied themselves fantastically well as we tried throughout the day," added Richardson.
"The game ebbed and flowed a little bit, and we always wanted to have that chance to win the game of cricket.
"It didn’t quite come off, and so the next thing for us was to try and save it. To come as close as we did stings a little bit, and obviously, we don’t want to lose games of cricket.
"But we also didn’t want to have a game that ended in a pointless draw. We wanted to try and put ourselves in a position to win the game."
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