JAKE Libby and Gareth Roderick batted their way throughout a rain-interrupted final day to guide Worcestershire to a draw in their County Championship clash with Yorkshire at New Road. 

The visitors enforced the follow-on late on day three but after Yorkshire took the early wickets of the defiant number 10 Adam Finch and number 11 Ben Gibbon upon the resumption, the rain halted their momentum. 

They were then frustrated by the partnership of Rodderick and Libby in between delays as Worcestershire dug in for a draw.

Gibbon and Finch had put on a brilliant 64-run tenth-wicket partnership at the end of the Pears' first innings, but were still forced to follow-on by Yorkshire after falling nine runs short of the required score. 

After their impressive display, Gibbon (15) and Finch (15) were put back out to bat at one and two to begin the second innings and reached 30 not-out before both fell in quick succession in the first half-an-hour of the final day.

Usual openers Libby and Roderick then came in at three and four and managed to stabilise the innings, playing patiently but still looking to score runs.

There was a delay of around three hours between 11:45 and 14:45 and another short interruption before tea.

But despite the decent conditions for the bowlers, Libby and Roderick were determined to stay in and they did so.

Libby brought up his half-century after tea and just after the 100-run partnership was reached, Yorkshire and Worcestershire shook hands on a draw. 

After the game. head coach Alan Richardson was full of praise for the way the likes of Gibbon and Finch battled away.

"Yorkshire played some really good cricket the first two days and put us under a lot of pressure so it was very difficult then for us to try and put that complete performance together," he said.

"But what we did show was a lot of spirit and a lot of heart and fight to make sure we came out of the game with a good draw.

"When Adam and Ben got together, the game was very much going towards Yorkshire. They got the momentum.

"The fact those guys wrestled it back and put together a fantastic 10th wicket partnership, to strangle it away from them to give us a chance of a draw, was a fantastic effort.

"We take pride in the fact we can bat all the way down and all the bowlers work incredibly hard on their contributions with the bat.

"That was absolutely vital in the outcome of this game."