| LV= County Championship Division Two, Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester (day three): |
| Worcestershire 348 & 234-5: Pollock 112, Libby 75; Mike 4-27 |
| Leicestershire 213: Hill 93; Leach 4-37 |
| Worcestershire (6 pts) lead Leicestershire (4 pts) by 369 runs |
| Scorecard |
Opener Ed Pollock smashed a maiden first-class century to put Worcestershire in complete control of their County Championship fixture against Leicestershire.
The former Warwickshire batter, who moved to Worcestershire with the aim of playing red ball cricket, hit 10 fours and two sixes as he raced to three figures from 113 deliveries en route to scoring 112 off just 122 balls.
At the end of a protracted final session that closed shortly after 19:00 BST, the visitors were 234-5 and led by 369 runs.
Pollock and fellow opener Jake Libby put together a stand of 163 when they began Worcestershire’s second innings, scoring at more than five an over after Leicestershire had been bowled out for 213, with all-rounder Joe Leach taking 4-37 to go with his first-innings 70.
Resuming on 42-3, Leicestershire suffered a big early blow when captain Colin Ackermann, having added only four to his overnight score, was given out leg before when he left a delivery from Leach that came back and hit his back pad, although replays suggested it was missing off-stump.
Lewis Hill battled on, reaching his 50 with a cut to the point boundary, but had an escape when another attempted cut came off the top edge and flew high to first slip, where Pollock got both hands to the ball but could not hang on.
Hill and Harry Swindells raised a 50 partnership for the fifth wicket before Swindells was bowled by a swinging delivery from Ed Barnard and the Worcestershire seamer struck again soon afterwards, Ben Mike checking an on-drive and giving Azhar Ali a simple catch at mid-on.
When Hill himself was bowled for 93, chopping a wide delivery from Dillon Pennington into his leg stump, the prospects of the Foxes saving the follow-on looked remote.
Callum Parkinson and then Ed Barnes then went leg before to Charlie Morris and Leach respectively and another 34 runs were still needed when last man Beuran Hendricks joined Chris Wright at the wicket.
The two played sensibly against the ageing ball, however, and when Pears captain Brett D’Oliveira tried spin, Wright hit Josh Baker for three fours down the ground to get them past the target.
After Wright was dismissed for 32, Pollock hit 16 off the bowler’s very first over in Worcestershire’s second innings.
Libby was eventually bowled off the inside edge for 75 by Mike, who went on to pick up four for 27 as Worcestershire’s batsmen chased quick runs, with Pollock holing out to mid-wicket.
Report supplied by ECB Reporters Network.
