[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Three

Morning: With Wednesday entirely washed out, Worcestershire resumed on 104-1 on a sunny Thursday morn and kicked off with a Jake Libby half-century completed off the fifth ball of the day; alas, the opener departed on 57, and in what could be his final New Road innings, Jack Haynes made a brisk 35 before being bowled by Paul Coughlin. Adam Hose managed only 4 before a blow to the forearm forced his retirement, and the curse of the umpires then struck as the men in white coats kept the teams out in a gathering shower for just long enough to lose Azhar Ali for 25, caught at cover. An early lunch was taken with the Pears 179-4.

Afternoon: No play possible due to rain.

Evening: As Leicestershire polished off Yorkshire at Grace Road and then set about taking a first-innings lead, frustration grew at New Road until at last play resumed at half past three. The boundaries flowed till Worcs were on the verge of their first bonus point, when Kashif Ali edged Bas de Leede to first slip for 22, and the same bowler proceeded to see off new man Logan van Beek LBW for 6. The Pears stuck at it, with another dogged and occasionally dashing fifty from Brett D'Oliveira notching up two bonus points before the skipper was bowled by a corking leg-break from Matt Parkinson on 63. With the new ball taken the end came in the space of four balls, Ben Allison going for 22 and Dillon Pennington for a duck to finish the innings on 313 and close off the last few permutations that might have allowed Worcs to deny Durham their well-earned title. They closed on 10-0, and Friday promises to be a fascinating day of possibilities around the country; if Yorkshire can shut out Leics for at least a couple of sessions, then Worcs should be happy to chase the bowling points on offer and take the draw that will put promotion just a rubber stamp away. But if the Tykes collapse and hand the Foxes a low-scoring win to put the cat among the pigeons, we might just see some gentlemanly declarations made at New Road in aid of reaching a positive result...