[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: Cloudier Friday skies didn't translate to an easier job with the ball, and certainly not the miracle that the Pears needed. Ben Gibbon dismissed Scott Borthwick LBW for 89 within the first half-hour, but that wicket simply brought about the long-dreaded arrival of Ben Stokes at the crease, and it proved every bit as much of a nightmare as expected as the new England skipper was given free rein to go nuclear. Poor Josh Baker in particular went the distance as Stokes attempted to take him for six sixes in an over, falling just short with 34. Nevertheless, Stokes racked up a century in maximums alone, setting a new record for sixes in an English innings - his seventeen beating the sixteen of Andrew Symonds in 1995 - and there was really no Plan B for Worcestershire except waiting for the storm to end as lunch was taken on 548-4.

Afternoon: The smallest of consolation as Brett D'Oliveira had Stokes caught on the boundary for 161, and the first ball of the next over gave Baker his own fig leaf of comfort courtesy of David Bedingham being caught for 135. At the over's end, Durham decided that 580-6 was a fit total to declare on, and as sure as eggs is infuriatingly predictable eggs, the same pitch that saw half a thousand runs racked up for next to no loss suddenly paid witness to a Worcestershire top order collapse at the hands of Matthew Potts. Jake Libby went first, caught behind for a duck; Azhar Ali perished four balls later without scoring, caught at slip, before Jack Haynes went LBW for 6 and Ed Pollock, despite a counter-attacking 32, was caught behind shortly before the ten-over mark. New man Ed Barnard enjoyed a sliver of luck as he inside-edged a Stokes delivery onto his pads that subsequently rolled onto the stumps without dislodging the bails, and he and Dolly were able to survive till tea on 110-4.

Evening: With rainclouds gathering and the light fast fading, all the two set batsmen had to do was bide their time and avoid silly risks; yet somehow, that was too much to ask. Having made a tenacious 41 and seen off the worst of the new ball, Dolly threw his bat at a Chris Rushworth bouncer so far outside off that it was practically a wide, and succeeded only in edging behind. Having reached his half-century, Barnard was then bowled by Potts for 55 shortly before bad light put an end to a day's cricket that was undoubtedly enjoyable viewing for pretty much everyone except the home side.

On 169-6, still trailing by 411 and with good weather for the next two days, the game has essentially already gone. But when the second innings rolls around, you have to wonder if some players in the top four are prepared to bat for their place in the team.