[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division Two

vs Leicestershire

Day One

Morning: Leicestershire won the toss and put the Pears in to bat on an unseasonably chilly April morning with a few clouds overhead. This was presumably to Worcestershire's liking, having opted to contest the toss rather than putting the home side straight in, but for the first hour of play it was hard going, with the relaid pitch offering plenty for the bowlers. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell dug in to see off the new ball, but a little after noon the Foxes got their reward with Fell bowled by Will Davis for 28. That breakthrough became a genuine foothold in the following over, when Dolly was caught at second slip for a second-ball duck, but his departure brought debutant Hamish Rutherford to the crease, and together with Mitchell the Kiwi proceeded to shepherd Worcs safely to lunch on 104-2, the happier of the two sides.

Afternoon: After the interval it only got better for the visitors, and worse for the home side. Perhaps regretting the decision to field already, the Foxes bowlers toiled through the second session with little consistency or discipline, while Mitch and Rutherford put away the regular four-balls without a fuss. Shortly before tea, Mitchell completed the thirty-sixth first-class ton of his career, on the same ground where he made his maiden half-century way back in 2005, and Leicestershire were obliged to trudge off at the interval wicketless in the session with Worcestershire 240-2 and well on top.

Evening: Some consolation for Leicestershire as Mitch was caught at slip off the bowling of Colin Ackermann in the first over after tea for 114, but no real respite as Riki Wessels joined Rutherford out in the middle, and the pair continued to punish the numerous poor balls from a tiring Foxes attack. By five o'clock, Rutherford had become the third Worcs batsman in less than twelve months (following Guptill and Milton in 2018) to mark his red-ball debut with a century; all the more astonishing as he's only the tenth of all-time to do so. About half an hour before close, Wessels was dismissed by an unlucky LBW decision for a brisk 43, having knocked a memorable three fours in an over off the new-ball bowling of Chris Wright, but with the pitch showing some signs of variable bounce, Ross Whiteley survived through to stumps alongside Rutherford, the former unbeaten on 18 and the latter on 116, with Worcestershire 348-4.

Tomorrow will be a vital day; the Pears have until around noon to make maximum batting points, though some early movement off the pitch is also likely, making for an intriguing battle between bat and ball. Make it to the afternoon relatively unscathed, and there's every chance of pushing on for 500+ and a declaration at tea, giving the bowlers chance to skittle Leics twice on a deteriorating pitch.