[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: Another bright, cold East Midland morn, and despite Hamish Rutherford being caught behind off Tom Taylor for just an additional seven runs, stand-in skipper Ben Cox came to the crease and soon provided a captain's knock. Maximum batting points were brought up with a six over backward square from Ross Whiteley, and though the big man soon departed LBW to Ben Mike for 49, he'd hung on for long enough to deny the home side a second bowling point. Ed Barnard was next in, and he and Coxy succeeded in guiding the Pears to lunch on 470-6, with a handy 122 runs from the session.

Afternoon: In the second session Worcestershire stuck around long enough for Barnard to bring up a quickfire half-century, while at the other end Ben Cox completed the fourth first-class century of his career, and the first since July 2017. With the score 553-6, and the Pears innings boasting three different centurions for the first time since Solanki, Stephen Moore and Phil Jaques catapulted Worcs to 701 against Surrey in June 2007, the time had come to declare. There was time left in the session for Josh Tongue to remove Paul Horton, with a good catch taken at ankle-height by Mitchell at second slip, and for Charlie Morris to dismiss Hasan Azad LBW with a full delivery that nipped back in, reducing the Foxes to 24-2; however, Mark Cosgrove came out and counter-attacked, punishing a rusty Wayne Parnell in particular, to carry Leics to 76-2 by tea.

Evening: As the skies clouded over, for a good hour it was a long cold slog in a biting wind, and when a numb-handed Tom Fell contrived to drop Ateeq Javid twice at slip it seemed that we might have no luck at all in the final session. But finally a spell of good, tight, economical bowling paid off as a restless Cosgrove grew frustrated enough to swipe across the line at a slower ball from Ed Barnard, and the leading edge fell kindly for Dolly to take a tumbling catch at extra cover, dismissing the power-hitter for a run-a-ball 67 that could have been much, much more. In contrast, Colin Ackermann's stay at the crease was a short and cheap one, as he was tempted to reach for a delivery outside off-stump from Josh Tongue and promptly chopped the ball onto middle stump with a thick inside edge. Nightwatchman Chris Wright survived to stumps with Javid, who completed a half-century after those two early reprieves, taking Leicestershire to 180-4 at close of play. Worcestershire's day again, though not as emphatically as yesterday; the late dismissal of Ackermann just nudged the bowling performance over the line to a satisfactory return, and it's clear that on this pitch every wicket has to be toiled for. From weighing up the chances of an innings victory last night, there's now a growing suspicion that the Pears will, at some point in this match, have to bat again.

With Javid playing a measured knock to anchor the innings, it goes without saying that the opener will be the prize scalp in the morning. The new ball will be available just before lunch, and we'll have until tea to claim bowling points; hopefully if we can make early inroads, the Foxes resistance may yet crumble.