LIAM Plunkett was again Durham’s enforcer as they closed in on a fourth successive championship win by reducing Worcestershire to 124 for eight before Kabir Ali led a pre-tea rally. When the visitors reached 157 for eight they were 156 ahead.
As in the first innings, the first five wickets were shared by five bowlers before Plunkett grabbed two crucial ones in another afternoon spell of sustained accuracy.
He also bowled with enough pace to generate some hostility, allowing him to snare 19-year-old Dutch international Alexei Kervezee for an impressive 66.
With batting initially looking much easier than yesterday in the fresher conditions, the opener had been largely untroubled until Plunkett came back for his second spell.
Suddenly Kervezee was in all sorts of difficulties, and he was stranded between a hook and evasive action when he lobbed a gentle catch to Phil Mustard.
As Plunkett had brought plenty of balls back into the right-hander it was a bad misjudgement by Gareth Batty to shoulder arms to one which ripped out his off stump. He departed with a long look at the pitch, which was entirely blameless.
Ian Blackwell, the fifth bowler to take a wicket, also chipped in with a second as he twice found enough turn to provide two more catches for Mustard.
As they struggled in the morning, Durham were initially left to rue the umpires’ caution in taking them off yesterday afternoon, when they had fancied making swift inroads into the visitors’ batting.
But two careless dismissals, with both Moeen Ali and Ben Smith caught at backward point by Kyle Coetzer, saw Worcestershire slip from 59 for one to 66 for three at lunch.
The ball did not swing significantly and the pitch looked flat as the openers put on 36. As in the first innings it was Mark Davies who made the breakthrough, again finding the edge for Michael Di Venuto to take a good catch to his left to remove Daryl Mitchell for 15.
The equally talented Moeen Ali, who appears to have modelled his left-handed stance on Shivnarine Chanderpaul, showed none of the West Indian’s application.
He would have run himself out for a duck had Will Smith’s shy from wide mid-off hit the stumps, but perished for ten when he sliced Plunkett to Coetzer, who held a good catch low to his right.
While the visitors had the ball changed twice yesterday, Durham had to complain four times this morning before the umpires granted a replacement and it brought instant rewards.
Plunkett almost had Ben Smith for nought when Worcestershire’s only experienced batsman edged low to third slip’s left, where Gordon Muchall dived to get a hand to the ball.
But Smith made only three before cutting Callum Thorp low to Coetzer, and after lunch left-hander David Wheeldon repeated his first innings dismissal by driving wide of off stump and edging to Di Venuto to give Mitch Claydon a wicket.
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