[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: Another bright day at Trafalgar Road, another bonanza of falling wickets. Worcestershire mopped up the remainder of the Lancs batting order as Josh Tongue continued his triumphant return from injury, completing his five-fer with Jordan Clark the last man to fall. The home side were 161 all out, giving the Pears a more-than-handy lead of 61 on a tricky pitch, but there were twists aplenty to come. Before the interval, Daryl Mitchell was trapped LBW, Joe Clarke was bowled and Tom Fell caught at point, all off the bowling of Tom Bailey, leaving Worcestershire 44-3 at lunch and in danger of letting the advantage slip.

Afternoon: There was time for things to get a little worse as Dolly edged one behind just minutes into the afternoon session, reducing Worcs to a troubling 56-4. However, the going got a fair bit easier as the day progressed, and a handsome 61-run partnership between Alex Milton and Ben Cox, before both fell to the spin of Maharaj, helped lift the visitors to 159-6 at tea with a lead of 220 and counting.

Evening: And the tail wagged for Worcestershire in the final session, not with any great fireworks but rather with some gritty and dogged knocks. Foremost among them was a half-century from Wayne Parnell, who sadly lost his concentration and departed the ball after the milestone. Ed Barnard was a bit guilty of going into T20 mode when there was no real need, falling on 24, while Josh Tongue (who really can do no wrong in this match) unleashed some fine shots which suggest he's evolved into a very handy tail-ender since last season. The Pears were eventually bowled out for 252, setting Lancashire a total of 314 to win. The Red Rose made it through the last three overs in the dying light to reach stumps on 8-0, needing 306 more. Worcestershire have to be favourites from here, but there's some suggestion that the pitch might be flattening out, with less to offer the seamers. Lancs gave Surrey a real run for their money last week, and though the Pears will back their spinners to come good on a third-day wicket, this could yet prove a close call.