[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division One

vs Somerset

Chester Road, Kidderminster

Day One

Morning: The Pears won the toss and put Somerset in to bat on a bitterly cold spring day on the southern fringes of the Black Country. Perhaps the cloud cover and wind were germane to the decision, but it seemed an iffy choice during the first session as Sean Dickson was the only casualty of the new ball, given LBW for 16 to Matthew Waite, and though Ben Gibbon struck in the run-up to the interval to claim his first scalp of the season - Matt Renshaw caught at first slip for 30 off a full delivery from the left-armer that cramped his defence and kissed the edge - Somerset had the better of the session as they reached lunch on 87-2.

Afternoon: A careless drive at a Joe Leach outswinger saw Tom Lammonby caught at second slip for 34, which helped keep Worcestershire on the coattails of the visitors, but most of the afternoon remained a slog for the Pears bowlers. Another interval was almost upon us by the time Jason Holder popped a can of spinach, ate his Weetabix and washed it all down with Carling Black Label; his first victim was Andy Umeed, closing in on a half-century, whose outside edge was clipped by a fast outswinger that curved wickedly and flew to the keeper. The West Indian then had James Rew caught behind for 3 with a full delivery angled across him, and wrapped up the session with a searing yorker that thudded into the front pad of Lewis Gregory, seeing the Somerset skipper off leg-before for 1. 181-6 at tea, there was every reason for Worcs to believe it was even stevens for the first time in hours.

Evening: A lackadaisical defensive from Kasey Aldridge that allowed Waite to strike his front pad and remove him LBW for 9 kept the visitors on the ropes, and with just eight overs to go until the second new ball, the Pears seemed to have the door wide open. But for the second week in a row, an aggressive tail undid so much of the good work the bowlers had done; scoring at above seven an over, the freewheelin' Migael Pretorius got the scoreboard whirring with Tom Banton until Joe Leach had him caught at slip for 49, and even then, Somerset reached a second batting point in relative comfort. It took a direct hit on the stumps by Brett D'Oliveira to run out Tom Banton on 92, and though the visitors padded up Shoaib Bashir to see out a solitary maiden over, they then decided (belatedly and somewhat bizarrely) that 309-9 was the total they'd declare on, giving Worcestershire a five-over examination before close of play. This apparently impromptu gamble didn't pay off as the Pears reached stumps on 14-0, bringing to an end a mixed bag of a first day that probably finished just about even.