Final day: Worcestershire (22pts) defeated Somerset (4) by ten wickets
If Worcestershire are to fulfil their pre-season prophecy of promotion in the Championship, then it is essential that every member of the squad contribute.
After opening the summer with consecutive defeats against Somerset and Derbyshire, the portents were worrying for the campaign ahead.
However, for Worcestershire's director of cricket Steve Rhodes, the auguries are excellent.
Such is the compressed nature of the County Championship second division table that this comfortable ten-wicket victory at Taunton catapulted them into fourth position.
A trip to take on Essex at Chelmsford next Wednesday will be another crucial barometer of how they have progressed and they are a team in rude health.
While much of the congratulations thus far have rightly been heaped upon Zaheer Khan and Phil Jaques, this was a fixture that saw four less vaunted players produce a seasonal-best statistic.
In amassing a monstrous first-innings total of 618, Ben Smith (203) and Graeme Hick (182) easily surpassed their best score of the season.
Gareth Batty's second innings haul of six for 119 was the perfect response to England's one-day selectors after being omitted from the one-day squad to face Sri Lanka.
It was further proof that he is starting to rediscover his form after he claimed a brace of wickets at Bristol in the county's last Championship outing.
While Batty's efforts ensured Stephen Moore and Jaques only had to score 42 to win, which they reached in only 4.3 overs, the shining light was Roger Sillence.
The former Gloucester-shire seamer had only captured three Championship wickets for the Pears prior to this encounter, yet an irrepressible first-innings bowling show saw him garner figures of seven for 96 and announce the 28-year-old's arrival in some style.
Yet he was typically bashful after receiving the plaudits and preferred to highlight the benefits of the New Road team ethic now being preached by Rhodes.
"While I am pleased for myself, I am far more pleased for the team," he said. "We are really starting to show some form in four-day cricket and the players are enjoying each other's company.
"This is showing in the way we are playing and the team is moving in the right direction. I was delighted to record my best figures of the season and I feel as though I am getting a little bit better with every game.
"The fact that I have Phil Jaques at mid-on and Zaheer on hand as well, means they can offload a lot of information in my direction. That is a lot of experience to draw on and it is definitely helping my own performances.
"Every player is contributing now and there have been some fantastic performances in our last four Championship fixtures. Every player is now chipping in and we are starting to enjoy our performances."
A 22-point haul has left the county within touching distance of Essex in second place, as Surrey appear to be champions in waiting.
A positive result at Chelmsford would only confirm their renaissance and with Worcetershire's rapacious batsmen finding form at just the right time, a serious assault on promotion suddenly appears feasible. ..SUPL:
