[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Bob Willis Trophy, Central Group

vs Glamorgan

Day One

Morning: Saturday was a real August furnace across the Midlands, and when the Pears won the toss, it seemed the easiest of decisions to elect to bat. But cricket is nothing if not unpredictable, and teams up and down the country soon found to their surprise that occupying the crease was not quite the picnic you'd expect, with Worcestershire the first to make that discovery as Daryl Mitchell was caught down the legside for a duck off the fourth ball of the match. Ten overs later, Tom Fell was also caught behind off Michael Hogan for 8, and though new man Jack Haynes looked full of confidence with some splendid boundaries, he too came unstuck when he tried to hook Hogan just before the interval and was caught at backward square leg for 21. It all looked a bit ominous, and distinctly redolent of previous seasons, but the assurance and composure of Jake Libby - who had already reached 43 - provided just the slightest hint of things to come, with no more wickets to fall all day.

Afternoon: Resuming on 77-3, Libby was dropped at second slip before he brought up his half-century with a straight drive to the boundary off Timm van der Gugten. Ticking along nicely at a rate of four an over, Brett D'Oliveira was instrumental in building the partnership, and after taking a particular liking to the off-spin of Kieran Bull, he brought up his fifty and the hundred partnership off the same delivery with drive to the cover boundary. Worcestershire closed the session on 188-3, with every reason to be optimistic.

Evening: And the fun in the sun went on and on. Libby completed his maiden century for the county eight overs before the second new ball, to rapturous applause from the pavilion, and Dolly brought up his eighth first-class ton with a square drive off Hogan. In the last hour, the pair set a new record for a Worcs fourth-wicket partnership against Glamorgan, surpassing the 221 scored by SH Martin and Harold "Doc" Gibbons at New Road in June 1938, and Libby was within three runs of a new highest tally in first-class cricket by the time the Pears closed on 309-3. The home side will have the morning session tomorrow to complete the innings, with nineteen overs to bring up 400 and maximum batting points. With two set batsmen and wickets in hand, there's no reason not to turn on the fireworks.