Derbyshire fight back strong on day two after early wickets topple against Worcestershire

Derbyshire 274/4*

Worcestershire 368

Sam Conners (5-109) and Shan Masood (113) starred on day two as Derbyshire fought back against Worcestershire at the Incora County Ground.

Derbyshire are trailing by 94 runs after ending the day on 274/4 thanks to a wonderful batting display from star-man Masood as well as a solid inning from Guest (77).

Masood revealed after the final session what the secret is to his world-class form.

“I think momentum is very important in this game. We were backed up by some very good fightback [from the bowler] and they picked up wickets for cheap runs and the pitch was good so we had to make the most of it.”

Conners and Suranga Lakmal began the day looking to build up momentum by attacking nightwatchman Adam Finch, but it was Ed Barnard (21) who was dismissed first off the bowling of Conners.

Conners then struck again two balls later after Ben Cox (2) was given out for LBW by the umpire despite the ball seeming to miss the leg stump. He also struck in the next over as Baker (0) edged a shot straight into the gloves of Brooke Guest. Worcestershire were reduced to 344-8 after starting the day 326-5.

Ryan Sidebottom then came in and claimed the wicket of Finch with his first ball of the day after Shan Masood took a diving catch. However, following this, he was then taken off immediately after with a suspected calf injury.

A stunning catch by Anuj Dal off the bowling of Conners after an aggressive shot from Charlie Morris (12) ended the innings as Worcester were all out for 368. This was Conners’ fifth wicket of the innings, coming from 31 overs.

Masood came out firing in the 30 minutes before lunch scoring 23 in as many balls before the break. Billy Godleman (14) began to build a strong partnership with the Pakistani International after lunch but dragged the ball onto his own stumps just before the 50-run partnership.

This did not waver Masood’s form though, as he continued to score at an impressive rate, bringing up his 50 off just 53 balls. Subsequently, he did manage to bring his 50-run partnership with Guest, who also got off to a flying start.

On day one it seemed as if Derbyshire bowlers were having a poor day, but Worcestershire struggled even more today. Morris, Finch, Barnard, and Ben Gibbon all had an economy rate of over four due to poor bowling as well as several overthrows in the field.

Just before tea, Masood brought up his 100 off 115 balls and hit eight fours on his way there. It is the third time he has reached the mark for Derbyshire this season, also reaching 50 six times in seven innings, as he moved past the 800-run mark in the campaign.

Derbyshire went into the tea break at 202-1, scoring a huge 172 runs in the afternoon session. Guest and Masood reached their 150-run partnership in the process as they dominated the Worcestershire bowlers.

Worcestershire made a breakthrough five balls after the break as Gibbon bowled Masood out after a laboured attempt to block the ball. This wicket settled the scoring rate as Worcester improved their line and length.

An hour later Guest was caught behind by Cox after a lazy shot led to him nicking the ball with the edge of his bat. Baker then dismissed Wayne Madsen (19) after trapping him for LBW to give the visitors some late momentum.

The hosts will begin the third day with Leus du Plooy (23*) and Luis Reece (20*) at the crease as they look to take the lead against their opponents.

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