Clik here to view.
Rising star Charlie Morris hijacked Somerset for the second time in three days, registering career-best match figures of 9-109 as Worcestershire powered to a first victory on their return to Division One of the LV= County Championship.
For Somerset, a side already in serious trouble after three straight defeats, it was a case of the one who got away when they were bowled out for 90, harried and ultimately embarrassed by Morris in going down by an innings and 62 runs.
Morris picked up 4-38, having set the tone for Worcs early on, while Jack Shantry wrapped up the Somerset tail after the lunch interval, to himself finish on 4-15.
Schooled in Taunton and on Somerset’s radar in under-15 and under-17 teams, Hereford-born pace bowler Morris was allowed to slip away and eventually emerged in the county game with Worcestershire after playing for Oxford MCCU and club teams at Budleigh Salterton in Devon and Brockhampton in Herefordshire.
Last season he took 52 championship wickets in Division Two and now he has made the step up in class by getting the most out of a helpful, but not devilish, pitch.
He did all that could be expected of a new-ball bowler by cleaning out the top four on the first day, and then by removing the first three today as Somerset barely raised a whimper on starting their second innings 152 behind.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
While he will undoubtedly face sterner opponents, his bowling - strong, pacey and penetrative - compared favourably with a similar match-winning performance by Jack Brooks for Yorkshire in the opening fixture here last month.
If Somerset were ever going to make a proper fight of it, they could not afford to lose Marcus Trescothick as quickly as they did, the captain pushing forward at Morris’ second delivery which clipped the top of off stump.
Much more was to come from Morris. In his third over, Johann Myburgh was beaten off the pitch, jabbing low to be caught by Ben Cox, and in the next Morris brought one back to bowl Tom Cooper.
When the admirable Joe Leach joined the party by dismissing Jim Allenby and Alex Barrow, both driving in successive overs, Somerset were in disarray at 19 for five, with only James Hildreth able to hang around for any length of time.
Peter Trego tried to hit them out of trouble but a leg-side waft soon gave Morris his fourth wicket.
And the only hint of resistance, a partnership of 38 for the seventh wicket, was abruptly ended when Shantry had Lewis Gregory caught by Cox, the wicketkeeper’s seventh catch in the match to go with a century.
Although Morris came back after lunch, it was Shantry who put Somerset out of their misery by taking the last three wickets in 11 balls, the most significant when Hildreth was lbw for 35 after holding up Worcestershire for 105 minutes.
The Worcester boys are happy!!! Top work from the lads, especially @BenCox10 and @joeleach230 with outstanding performances
— Charlie Morris (@morris_9) May 5, 2015
Worcestershire’s director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: "I am really pleased. It has been a tough start to season and two defeats have hurt us but we have played some reasonably good cricket throughout.
"Somerset are also going through a tough start to season but they are a Division One battle-hardened side so to beat them is exciting and I’m really proud of team.
“We’ve got a good dressing room so that’s always going to help us anyway. The young lads are scoring runs for us and this win will give us confidence."
Somerset skipper Trescothick said: “I feel a little bit shell-shocked. We haven’t performed anywhere near the level that we expect as a team for the three days.
“We have been slightly off the boil so we have got a little bit of soul-searching to do. You can’t carry on in that vein because it’s not good enough."