County Championship: Worcestershire earn parity with Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire had added 31 to their overnight score for the cost of the three remaining wickets, an outcome which appeared to hearten Worcestershire in their own pursuit of runs.

Dan Lategan (33) and Jake Libby (29) put on 65 for the first wicket, before Lategan was adjudged to have been leg before from the bowling of Williams (2-33).

The Gloucestershire quick followed his first strike up with another breakthrough in his very next over when also nailing Libby in front, with a ball which kept low.

Having made in-roads, Gloucestershire reduced Worcestershire to 87-3 when the impressive Ahmed – whose figures read 12-3-23-1 at the close of play – caused Gareth Roderick to chop onto his own stumps.

Worcestershire, whose batting has suffered in various forms this season, required grit from the middle order – and it was delivered by Hose and D’Oliveira.

The pair put on a stoic partnership which lasted 221 deliveries, a crucial stand in the context of the match which was concocted with patience, discipline and concentration.

Hose claimed his fourth first-class half-century of the season from 116 deliveries before – and just as the duo might have been thinking about Worcestershire’s overnight total – he was castled by Charlesworth when attempting to pull through the line.

Brookes, the next man in, failed to get off the mark from any of the first 18 deliveries he faced, before the all-rounder clipped the 19th away without much fuss to the backward square leg boundary. He will return to the crease on Sunday, but his skipper will not.

For the otherwise imperturbable D’Oliveira perished in the penultimate over of the day when he edged Graeme van Buuren to opposing captain Cameron Bancroft at first slip, a wicket which may just have swung this game back towards the direction of Gloucestershire.

Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.