[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division Two

vs Sussex

Day One

Morning: Worcestershire won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny Thursday morning with a breath of summer in the breeze. The visitors, depleted by half a dozen injuries, had plenty of cause to rue the bad call as the Pears openers saw off the new ball with little concern and piled on the early runs. Ed Pollock had a let-off when a lusty leg-side blow was tipped over the rope at fine leg, but ultimately that six simply helped the new boy on his way to a 47-ball half-century. It was a more sedate showing from Jake Libby in contrast, who'd contributed barely an eighth of the partnership's tally when he was caught at first slip off Tom Haines for 11 at the end of the seventeenth over. That breakthrough proved the opening the Sussex captain needed, and he followed it up in his next over when an awkward back-foot forcing shot from Pollock was caught at backward point for 77. Then just before the twenty-over mark, it became three wickets for ten runs with Jack Haynes caught for 2 at square leg off George Burrows, and at 95-3 there was a familiar sinking feeling over New Road. For the second time this month, skipper Brett D'Oliveira had to lead from the front in shepherding the Pears to lunch, helped by Azhar Ali; when the interval came at 118-3 it was the end of a fairly even session, though the steadied ship and volume of runs perhaps shaded it a little in Worcestershire's favour.

Afternoon: Hope remained alive for the visitors courtesy of their captain, as the afternoon was scarcely a few overs old when Azhar was adjudged LBW to Haines for 20, bringing Ed Barnard to the crease. It could have been worse as Dolly was dropped at first slip on 19 by Tom Alsop, and the skipper went on to punish the seasiders for the error, completing his half-century by three o'clock, with Barnard reaching the same milestone shortly before tea was taken on 254-4. 136 runs for just 1 wicket and two batting points in the bag, in a session that unquestionably belonged to the Pears.

Evening: More of the same in the gentle evening sunlight, and if Sussex were perhaps guilty of waiting for the new ball to go on the attack, then it's a testament to the skill of the set batsmen and the weakness of the away side's armoury - reliant as it was on two emergency loanees and some sub-par spin from Delray Rawlins - that they were forced onto the defensive so long before the eighty-over mark. But the new nut reaped a reward on the fifth delivery when Barnard fell LBW to Grant Stewart for 75, visibly annoyed with himself for not sticking out the day. That scalp perhaps forced Dolly to grow a little more circumspect in the final hour, and the captain stretched his nervous nineties out for an unconscionable time in the face of tight bowling and excellent close fielding by Sussex, but a few minutes after the cathedral's bourdon bell tolled six, the skipper flicked Henry Crocombe off his pads for a single and commenced a Forrest Gump-esque celebration sprint down the wicket in honour of his tenth first-class ton. There were no further alarms as the Pears ambled to a comfortable close on 338-5; by far the most prolific scorers in the country on a generally run-starved Championship day, and very well set to take maximum batting points on Friday.