County Championship: Worcestershire frustrate fellow strugglers Durham

After a washout on day one, Durham won the toss and elected to bowl first.

The Worcestershire opening pair of Jake Libby and Edavalath managed to negate some probing bowling from Ben Raine and Matthew Potts without taking many risks during the first half hour.

Raine was rewarded for the pressure he built up as Libby was caught behind for 14, after he chased one down the legside. A second soon followed as Kashif Ali edged a Potts delivery straight into the hands of David Bedingham at third slip for 10.

Lategan then came to the crease and showed the first signs of aggression from the Pears batting line-up as he picked up three boundaries from a Potts over.

Edavalath remained solid after seeing off the new ball and Lategan continued to attack as the youthful pair took their side to 100 before lunch.

Edavalath calmly accumulated his way to his maiden first-class fifty just after lunch, reaching it from 96 deliveries.

The opener played a glorious straight drive off the bowling of Durham’s Afghan debutant Shafiqullah Ghafari for four to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Lategan followed that up as he cut a Raine ball to the boundary, but Raine struck back as he got him lbw for a well-made 44.

Pears skipper D’Oliveira was almost following the youngster back to the pavilion as he edged a Raine delivery to Emilio Gay at second slip but he could not cling on.

Just a couple of balls later, chaos ensued in the middle as, going for a quick single, Edavalath was sent back by his skipper and he was run out by Graham Clark for 61.

Roderick and D’Oliveira soaked up the pressure and continued to accumulate runs, with the Pears captain finding the boundary after Sam Conners offered a bit of width. Roderick then joined in to whip a Ghafari ball off his legs to the boundary.

The pair resumed after tea, with Roderick playing a delicate shot through the onside for four to kick things off after the tea break and he passed fifty off 88 balls soon after. D’Oliveira then reached his milestone from 114 balls as he got his side to a first batting point.

Durham took the new ball on the 80-over mark and there was a little bit on offer for Raine, but Roderick and D’Oliveira continued to look unflustered.

D’Oliveira played a beautiful shot through the offside for four, while Roderick continued to attack as he whipped a Will Rhodes ball through the legside for four.

There was a late twist as Conners sent D’Oliveira’s off-stump flying for an excellent 84, but it was Worcestershire’s day.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay