[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: With a big score there for the taking, it all went Pear-shaped in the Friday morning sunshine as Sam Conners tempted Ed Barnard into a drive that flew straight to cover for 21, and then three balls later Ben Cox was adjudged LBW for 2 to a delivery that was angling down leg. In his next over, Conners got a bit of extra bounce to see Josh Baker caught behind for a duck, and though the tail offered some resistance, Adam Finch was caught for 18 on the pull of Ryan Sidebottom, and an attempt by Charlie Morris to carve Conners away saw him caught for 12 at backward point. 368 all out was better than we'd have dared hope after losing the toss on Thursday, but given the overnight score, it felt worryingly like a sub-par total. That uneasy feeling wasn't helped by the Derbyshire openers cruising to lunch on 30-0, having wrested some serious momentum in the match.

Afternoon: When Ed Barnard cramped Billy Godleman for space and the opener chopped on to his leg stump for 14, it raised the hope that the hosts might be in for a testing session. But nothing could be further from the truth, as whatever life Conners had extracted from the pitch in the morning was nowhere to be found, and even bowling a testing line and length proved beyond the Pear attack. An afternoon of bowling pies allowed Derbyshire to feast on runs, going in for tea on 202-1.

Evening: There was a marked improvement after the interval, and after completing yet another century, Shan Masood played on to the stumps for 113 from an excellent Ben Gibbon delivery. Brooke Guest was then perhaps guilty of getting a little too cocky as he flashed a drive at Ed Barnard and was caught behind for 77, removing both set batsmen. With the exorbitant run-rate being strangled, Josh Baker then claimed the key wicket of the ever-dangerous Wayne Madsen for just 19, dismissing him LBW around half past five. Closing on 274-4, trailing by 94, the even final session just about helped Worcestershire remain in the game on a day that Derbyshire claimed overall. The second new ball will be due after five overs in the morning, and the Pears will have to produce a lethal spell with it to match the one Sam Conners delivered on Friday if they're to gain a first-innings lead.