[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: No play possible due to rain.

Afternoon: With just two wickets standing, it was the Ed Barnard show in Taunton as the young all-rounder made a half-century and guided the visitors within twenty-three runs of parity.  The Pears then successfully knocked over the first couple of Somerset wickets in short order, but by tea the home side had begun to consolidate.

Evening: Plenty of frustration for Worcestershire again as James Hildreth made an unbeaten century, but when it looked like the game was getting away from the Pears, up stepped Ed Barnard yet again to deliver a second five-fer of the match - his first ever ten-wicket haul - to reduce Somerset to 255-9 by close, with a lead of 278.  It's absolutely imperative that the Pears get that last wicket early tomorrow and keep the total needed below 300. It'll still take a titanic batting performance on a third-day pitch to get anywhere near that, but psychologically, we need that crucial boost.