[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: Friday was a little sunnier and milder than its predecessor, and Ed Barnard was able to complete his half-century with a cover-drive off Beuran Hendricks before being pinned LBW by Ed Barnes for 57. Barnes then doubled up with the quick wicket of Ben Cox, caught behind for 6, and with the Pears 155-6 the innings felt fragile again. It was again down to Brett D'Oliveira, soldiering on to his half-century, to rebuild alongside the incoming Joe Leach who showed no shortage of counter-attacking intent at the crease. That partnership successfully brought up the first batting point and survived to lunch on 205-6; a session that Worcester shaded with 87 scored for the loss of 2 wickets, but with plenty still to do to put a good score on the board.

Afternoon: As the ball and pitch alike slowly lost all menace, the partnership accelerated and made Leicestershire toil hard in the field. Having shown due caution playing himself in, Dolly was increasingly happy to exhibit his natural game as the session wore on, skipping down the wicket to club Callum Parkinson down the ground for six before completing the hundred partnership with a splendid four off the back foot. For his part, Leach showed no shortage of aggression in reaching his fifty, but with a century very much there for the taking, he attempted to sweep Colin Ackermann and was caught rather tamely at deep midwicket for 70. Dolly pressed on regardless, slashing Hendricks for four through cover-point to complete his ninth first-class century - and, in the circumstances, probably his finest - but new man Josh Baker never looked comfortable against the new ball, and after a string of questionable shots he eventually departed to a somewhat harsh LBW decision for 15. Tea was taken with Worcestershire 326-8, having put on 121 runs for 2 wickets in an afternoon that was comfortably theirs.

Evening: The new ball continued to talk, proving too much for Charlie Morris when he was bowled by Ben Mike for 8 shortly after the interval. It was a signal for Dolly to find the boundary as much as he could, and the visitors were within two runs of a fourth batting point when Dillon Pennington was caught behind for 2 off Mike, breaking the lexically-satisfying Dilly-Dolly partnership and bringing the Pears innings to a close on 348. And under greying skies, with the temperature merrily plummeting, the new ball was no less lethal for the Worcs attack than for their opponents; attempting a leave, Sam Evans was bowled for 1 by Joe Leach in the third over of the reply, bringing George Rhodes to the crease. The former Pear may have wanted a memorable innings, but it proved memorable for all the wrong reasons when Charlie Morris found the edge off Rhodes's forward defensive, catapulting a sharp chance to third slip where it bounced off a set of cold fingers, looped up, and drew a cat-like reaction dive from Ben Cox, who snaffled it one-handed at full stretch barely an inch from the ground. Gone for a third-ball duck, Rhodes's erstwhile partner Hasan Azad then perished for 5 when Leach sent an edge straight to fourth slip, leaving Leicestershire 6-3. Like Worcs a day earlier, the Foxes then found a bit of stability in the remaining overs, closing on 42-3 when bad light intervened; a ray of light for them on what was indisputably their opponent's day.

The current partnership of Colin Ackermann and Lewis Hill is a huge one in the context of the match, and the Pears need to make the early overs count in the morning. If the first innings is any indication, wickets will prove hard to come by as the ball ages, so remaining patient and getting the ball in the right areas as the day wears on will be key.