[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: Another cloudy and muggy day, and the Pears struggled to consolidate from the off. Dolly was the first to go, adding only three runs to his overnight score, and Tom Fell followed him after making just 5 off four balls. A third-wicket stand of 88 between Daryl Mitchell and Joe Clarke thankfully guided Worcestershire to within a few dozen runs of parity before the former was trapped LBW by Bopara a little before lunch.

Afternoon: When he gets going, there's just no stopping Joe Clarke. The youngster effectively played a lone hand in giving Worcestershire a first-innings lead as wickets tumbled for single-figure scores all around him. On a difficult pitch, his second century in successive weekends was a sublime achievement, and one can only wonder whether it's enough to sway the England selectors in the weeks to come. By tea, Worcs were all out for 238, with what seemed a very handy lead of 61.

Evening: But sadly, after the break the Pears were obliged to watch that lead evaporate. Varun Chopra was the only man to fall before the visitors reached parity, and Alastair Cook proved a particular thorn in Worcestershire's side with an effortless half-century. In the end, Joe Leach got a ball to nip back in on the former England skipper which just grazed the bail as Cook shouldered arms, and the crucial breakthrough was made. Tom Westley fell shortly thereafter, and after a somewhat fruitless spell late in the day Josh Tongue also managed to have Ravi Bopara caught behind in the dying overs. Essex close on 143-4 with a lead of 82 on a day when honours are probably about even. With sun forecast tomorrow, Worcs need to make quick inroads in the morning and look to have the visitors all out with a lead of less than 200. Our batting order is too vulnerable to chase much more, even if the pitch improves, and we desperately need this win.