[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: On a sunny day that remained chilly in the shade, an hour passed before the first breakthrough, with Josh Tongue getting a ball to nip back on Danny Briggs and dismiss him LBW for 24. Yet another drop cost him the chance to send Liam Norwell packing for a duck, though the opportunity to claim maximum bowling points had already gone, and the tail-ender's wicket was eventually claimed for 9 with an Alzarri Joseph yorker. Having allowed the Bears to bat on too long with careless fielding, it was a good catch at cover off the bowling of Ed Barnard that finally wrapped up the innings, with Michael Burgess the man to go for 101 as Warks were all out for 343. The plague of drops was evidently contagious, as Jake Libby was shelled at first slip almost immediately in the Pears reply, but he and Daryl Mitchell survived a hostile spell to reach lunch on 12-0.

Afternoon: After looking relatively untroubled for the first forty minutes of the session, Daryl Mitchell was deceived by a delivery that kept low and jagged back, and was adjudged LBW for 12. A lengthy rebuild followed, and was progressing well - helped along by yet another Libby half-century - until Tom Fell chased after a ball outside off stump that wasn't there to be attacked, and was duly caught behind for 20, leaving the Pears 123-2 at tea.

Evening: Having reached a fluent yet hard-won 74, Libby was an early casualty of the final session, caught at short leg without adding to his score. New man Brett D'Oliveira survived a couple of chances as he made a start, but never really got into his rhythm, and after slashing a Will Rhodes delivery away for four was caught behind off the very next ball for 15. Nevertheless, young Jack Haynes looked in good touch as he seized his first opportunity of the season with gusto, keeping the scoreboard ticking and bringing up the third first-class fifty of his career shortly before close with a sumptuous cover-drive. Worcestershire closed on 198-4, narrowly claiming the day's honours, but with the weather forecast for Saturday still suggesting that this absorbing and even contest between the two West Midland rivals is doomed to lose a full day's play, it'll take a meteorological miracle for the game to continue unfolding and reach a positive result one way or the other.