Worcs rally but Lancs build lead at Blackpool
Last updated on .From the section Counties
| LV County Championship Division One, Blackpool |
| Close of play, day two: Lancashire 282 & 167-3, Worcestershire 202 |
| Lancashire 5pts, Worcestershire 4pts |
| Match scorecard |
| Live commentary |
Lancashire go into day three looking in control with a 247-run lead against Worcestershire at Blackpool despite a morning fightback from the visitors.
After 15 wickets fell on day one, only eight went on day two as the visitors continued to rally from their overnight 77-5 to be bowled out for 202.
Ben Scott (65no) and Gareth Andrew (61) led the way in a stand of 67 for the seventh wicket.
But Karl Brown hit an unbeaten 55 as Lancashire ended the day on 167-3.
His unbroken 90-run partnership for the fourth wicket with first innings centurion Steven Croft (39no) blunted Worcestershire's fightback.
The pair helped Lancashire recover after two Andrew strikes had reduced the home side to 77-3 early in the evening session.
In Worcestershire's first innings, Lancashire skipper Glen Chapple took one more wicket to finish with 4-47 after he removed Aneesh Kapil with the fifth ball of the morning.
Andrew and Scott then offered stiff resistance as they added the 56 runs they needed to save the follow-on.
But both batsmen were given lives, Andrew being reprieved on 28 when Croft grassed a difficult diving slip catch off Kyle Hogg.
Scott then skied Gary Keedy to deep mid-on 14 overs later, but Worcestershire old boy Stephen Moore could not cling on to the testing chance.
Andrew eventually sliced a drive to Croft in the gully, and Shaaiq Choudhry was caught on the stroke of lunch when he edged a lifting Mahmood delivery to first slip. But, after Worcestershire lunched on 164-8, the tailenders still needed prising out.
Although Richard Jones played on to Mahmood in the fifth over after lunch, Alan Richardson hung around for half an hour to add a further 24 runs for the last wicket.
Scott had another life when he inside-edged Smith wide of Cross but had hit six boundaries when Richardson gave Mahmood his third wicket by guiding him to backward point.
