[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: In the first over of a muggy, humid day, Ed Barnard had Fynn Hudson-Prentice caught behind for 4 to lift Worcestershire's spirits after a tough second day. When Joe Leach followed that up by dismissing Anoj Dal LBW for a duck to leave Derbyshire 277-8, there were fresh hopes that the innings might be wrapped up quickly with an achievable target. However, a ninth-wicket partnership of 99 steadily took the game away, and by the time things came to a close with Leach getting Palladino to loft up a catch to mid-on for 58 and Barnard returning his best figures of the season by dismissing Ravi Rampaul for a duck, the Peakites had set the Pears a daunting 373 to win.

Afternoon: You can never overstate the ability of the Worcestershire top order to make a pitch which has been placid as a lake for a day and a half look like an absolute chuffing minefield. The Pears were blown away in an afternoon onslaught that saw them reduced to 48-5 before Callum Ferguson and Ben Cox dug in and led a fightback, reaching tea on 65-5.

Evening: The partnership continued without a single wicket lost for the remainder of the day, and the home side reached stumps on 156-5, still needing a frankly impossible 217 to win.