[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Two

Morning: No play possible due to rain.

Afternoon: After an early lunch to whet the appetite for some cricket, the match resumed shortly after one o'clock, and Jack Haynes signalled his positive intent almost immediately by pulling Chris Wright for six as he completed his half-century. There were no chances on offer for the visitors, and after a steady afternoon's accumulation, Azhar Ali finally crossed the line for his first century in pear-green with a single to fine leg. Haynes then reached the same landmark off Rehan Ahmed some twenty minutes later; his third century in as many games making him the first Worcs batsman to achieve that hat-trick since Daryl Mitchell did so against Derbyshire, Northants and Sussex in May/June 2017. With a simple, punchy technique and an ability to pick up length quickly, the hometown boy has already equalled his father's total career tons, and alongside Azhar he guided the Pears to tea on 307-2 with a commanding lead of 159.

Evening: Records tumbled on a cloudy Friday night as Azhar and Haynes set first a new record third-wicket partnership against Leicestershire, and then a record stand for any wicket against the Foxes, effortlessly outstripping the 278 from openers Cyril Walters and Harold "Doc" Gibbons in late August 1934. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and a five-hour watch for Haynes ended when Wiaan Mulder struck him on the back leg and dismissed him LBW for 127. But maximum batting points came for the first time this summer along with a 150 for Azhar, before a short rain delay at quarter to six. The resumption saw Brett D'Oliveira complete an assured fifty, and Azhar go on the attack by dancing down the pitch and clobbering Callum Parkinson over long-on for a mammoth six; in the day's last over, with long shadows stretching over the outfield, the Pakistani then middled a sublime cover-drive off a half-volley from Ahmed to conclude a perfect day in the perfect way, completing his double-century and offering high fives to the young kids in raptures by the pavilion. Closing on 456-3 with a lead of 308, the only question now is how long the Pears spend piling on the misery on Saturday, and what length of time - on a pitch that may have grown benign - will be needed to bowl the Foxes out again.