[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: In a chaotic first session, the run-out of nightwatchman Toby Lester was the first blow to be struck by the Pears, but it wasn't until Ed Barnard removed both Hameed and Jones in a single over that the pendulum began to swing in Worcestershire's favour. Davies was caught behind off the bowling of Dillon Pennington shortly after, and with the hosts four down at the session's end, everything looked rosy.

Afternoon: But sadly, the pitch was losing all of its bite and spark from the first two days, and the Pears toiled for wickets after lunch. Croft was dismissed by Josh Tongue as he began to look dangerous, and after taking some real punishment, Ben Twohig coaxed Jordan Clark into one too many big shots. Sadly, that was to be the last wicket Worcestershire would take in the match, as Dane Vilas and Josh Bohannon settled into a dogged and match-winning partnership.

Evening: Desperation crept in after tea, with four wickets still needed and the lead whittled down to double figures. Daryl Mitchell was brought into the attack for little apparent reason other than a sheer throw of the dice, but leaked boundaries left, right and centre. Half-chances came and went: a slip-catch didn't go to hand, a top-edge fell between fielders in the deep, a top-edge was adjudged to have been off the forearm of Vilas, and when the new ball was taken, it simply made the boundaries so much easier to come by. Something of a blessing, in the end, for the Pears to be put out of their hours-long misery.

Worcestershire LOSE by four wickets

The Verdict: A heartbreaking and demoralising defeat for Worcestershire, who dominated for large spells of the match and finished each of the previous two days on top, only to see it slip away in the last two sessions as the bowling attack simply ran out of ideas against an admirably stubborn Lancashire middle-order on a dead pitch. If relegation ensues, the team have to look at this match and the one against Essex in May as two games when defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory, costing a turnaround of dozens of points, and all for the want of one or two cannier heads on the field.

The last word belongs to Kevin Sharp, who says the boys will sulk for an hour or two and then go again versus Hants next week. Here's hoping they can learn to press home a narrow advantage before then.