[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: In the second over of another grey day, Joe Leach coaxed Scott Borthwick into edging behind for 27, raising hopes of a Worcestershire fightback with the ball, but the opposite was in store. Runs came easily for the hosts - not least when the ball hit the keeper's helmet in the field, occasioning a rare five penalty runs - and the only other scalp in the morning session came when David Bedingham was also caught behind for 33 off Josh Tongue, as Durham reached lunch on 162-3 with a lead of 195.

Afternoon: Dropping Will Young at deep backward square on 94 was far from the best start to the afternoon; fortunately it didn't cost too much, as the opener completed his century and then fell victim to the second new ball, leaving a Tongue delivery that jagged back and struck his pad, dismissing him LBW for 103. But it was the only wicket of a frustrating session for Worcs as Durham built their lead, taking tea 304 runs ahead on 271-4.

Evening: In a decision that might prove pivotal to the match overall, the home side didn't back themselves to defend the existing lead and instead elected to carry on batting for a substantial part of the evening, losing Ned Eckersley to a catch at deep point off Charlie Morris as they piled on the runs, and allowing Jack Burnham to complete his century before making the inevitable declaration on 389-5, setting the Pears a largely nominal 423 to win. However, there was no early breakthrough in their search for victory, though Jake Libby was dropped at second slip off Mark Wood; at the other end, Daryl Mitchell took an attacking approach to the situation, notching up a swift and unbeaten 45 before stumps as Worcestershire closed on 60-0, requiring 363 more on the final day. The weather may well have the final say in this, with rain around on Sunday afternoon, but the Pears will still need to show some resilience to bring home a share of the spoils.