JUST how the Worcestershire and Warwickshire LV= County Championship Division One match might have panned out had there been a wicket fit for first-class cricket is anyone’s guess.

Would the New Road side go on to claim their first four-day win of the season? Who knows?

But what is known is an ECB pitch panel rated the Edgbaston pitch as poor and Worcestershire returned home without any serious injuries. Both those factors are remarkable.

County director of cricket Steve Rhodes described the pitch as the ‘worst wicket he has seen in professional cricket in England’, while Worcestershire’s Vikram Solanki was the only player who needed to visit hospital despite the numerous body blows a whole raft of players received.

So when wicketkeeper Ben Scott took another ball to his hand, Rhodes, stand-in captain Moeen Ali and the 29-year-old loanee decided enough was enough.

Scott was in obvious pain and retired, while there was little chance of Solanki coming out to bat again after being struck on the head on Friday before retiring hurt without scoring.

Alan Richardson had a sore leg and was absent hurt, leaving the records to show a 218-run defeat.

Rhodes said: “I do think that it (the wicket) was a little bit under-prepared, the extravagant bounce you all saw meant it wasn’t a fit wicket for first-class cricket.”

Would Worcestershire have won this match when they resumed the final day on 36-3 chasing 328? Unlikely.

It was much better to take the defeat with a few bumps and bruises than to go for what would have been an astonishing victory and come out with several broken bones.

The final day at Edgbaston began with the news Warwickshire had been docked eight points for the poor pitch, a decision which they now have the nerve to appeal against.

Moeen and Shaaiq Choudhry made a steady start to try and save the game before the pitch and its extravagant bounce saw the latter hit on the arm.

Choudhry was the first to fall as he was trapped lbw by Rikki Clarke for seven before Gareth Andrew chipped Naqaash Tahir to Jonathan Trott for a quick nine.

Moeen’s resistance was finally brought to an end when he clipped Clarke off his legs only to find Chris Metters waiting gratefully on the boundary for the catch.

Damien Wright and Scott put on a useful seventh-wicket stand after coming together at 57-6 but, by then, the body blows were becoming more frequent.

The Australian all-rounder had only just been struck when he attempted to pull Boyd Rankin to give Ian Bell a simple catch before Scott was rapped on the hand by the Irish seamer to end this farce.