[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division Two

vs Nottinghamshire

Day One

Morning: Notts won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on a slate-grey Thursday morning with little in the way of warmth around. On a pitch greener than Greta Thunberg's pet iguana, the Worcestershire openers took a calculated decision to take the fight to the formidable bowling attack of the hosts, and for the first few overs it worked. Stuart Broad in particular was on the receiving end of some dismissive shots, but had the last laugh when he seamed the ball away from Jake Libby, who was drawn into a defensive push and caught behind for 15. The problems truly began with the first bowling change, which brought Dane Paterson into the attack; off his very first delivery, Ed Pollock - who'd led the charge against the openers with several boundaries and a contemptuous leg-side flick for six - nicked to third slip for 31, and none of the subsequent men in really settled at the crease after that. Azhar Ali edged behind for 6, Brett D'Oliveira was dismissed for the first time this season in the same fashion for 10, despite a valiant ten-over rebuild, and with nine balls to go until lunch, Ed Barnard attempted a late leave only to get an inside-edge onto the stumps for 8; all victims of Paterson. The interval came with the Pears 114-5 and floundering.

Afternoon: The Paterson onslaught not only continued, but intensified upon the restart. Ben Cox was LBW for 2 without adding to the score, Jack Haynes edged behind for 37 when a ball seamed away from him; Josh Baker was caught for 12 with a leading edge to mid-on, and Paterson claimed his career-best eighth wicket in a row by bowling Charlie Morris for 2. After a brief last-wicket stand, Luke Fletcher had Dillon Pennington caught behind for 18, and the Pears were all out for 159 before three o'clock. Worse still, the new-ball bowling from Worcestershire wasn't of the same standard that the hosts had set, and it took above seventeen overs before a run-out finally broke the Notts opening partnership. A swish of the bat from Haseeb Hameed at a widish Adam Finch delivery then saw the opener caught behind for 53, and Nottinghamshire went in for tea on a highly ominous 98-2.

Evening: It was a half-century and out for Ben Duckett, caught behind for 50 off Pennington, and the hosts had just moved into a first-innings lead with seven wickets still in hand when the perseverance of the Worcs bowlers finally paid off under the floodlights. The always-popular wicket of Joe Clarke went to Barnard for 18, as everyone's favourite turncoat nicked one through for a diving catch behind; Morris, who'd been alone in excelling himself with the new ball, finally got a deserved scalp when Mullaney edged to second slip for 7, and Lyndon James fell for 19 in exactly the same fashion the following over courtesy of Barnard. A direct hit from cover-point sent Liam Patterson-White packing for a duck to make it a five-wicket session, before Notts brought up their first batting point with a dogged rebuild. 203-7 at stumps with a lead of 44, Nottinghamshire already have a strong grip on the game despite the late Worcs fightback; the Pears really can't afford for that lead to reach three figures, and a strong first session on Friday is a must.