Lancashire, champions of the one-day league two years ago, continued to struggle in Division Two as they slumped to a ten-run defeat by last season's relegation partners.

Worcestershire stepped up their promotion challenge by surprisingly defending a meagre total of 99 and bowling out the visitors for 89 with 15.4 overs to spare.

They gambled by using their four main seam bowlers and were rewarded by a shower of wickets, starting when Andy Bichel removed two of the big guns, Michael Atherton and Andrew Flintoff, in his third over.

John Crawley and Chris Schofield were the only batsmen to make any headway as Kabir Ali and Stuart Lampitt queued up to enjoy the delights of bowling on a fiery pitch which was used for a Championship game last week.

Worcestershire's innings had produced only ten boundaries, four of these in Anurag Singh's dash to 30 from 22 balls before the opener lost his off stump to Glen Chapple. In the same over Graeme Hick played on to his leg stump and there was to be no way back from there.

Paul Pollard tried the disciplined approach with 24 in 26 overs until he became Flintoff's final victim in a League-best 3 for 16 and no-one could make any progress during Michael Smethurst's spell of nine overs for nine runs.

Lancashire held most of their chances and Worcestershire did not help themselves when Steve Rhodes and Kabir Ali were run out after mix-ups with Stuart Lampitt. Peter Martin then took the last two wickets in successive balls.

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