Worcestershire set Glamorgan a target of 382 runs at Cardiff

Yesterday had seen Gareth Andrew claim a career-best return of 5/40 as Glamorgan were dismissed for 155 on a day when eleven wickets tumbled during two sessions before gloomy light and rain hastened an early finish an hour after tea with the West Midlands side leading by 105 runs.


Resuming this morning on 20/0, Worcestershire were looking to further consolidate their lead as Graham Wagg opened up from the Cathedral Road End, and with his fifth delivery he induced as outside edge from Matt Pardoe's but Gareth Rees at third slip could not hold onto the chance. It did not though prove to be an expensive miss as next over Wagg found the edge of Pardoe's bat again and Mark Wallace completed a tumbling catch in front of first slip.


Tom Kohler-Cadmore began with a booming extra cover drive against Wagg whilst at the other end, Daryl Mitchell was set to drop anchor again, but he nearly departed in Wagg's fourth over of the morning as a thick outside edge just dropped short of a diving Murray Goodwin at backward point. Wagg beat Mitchell's outside edge on several occasions, but it was Jim Allenby who was operating at the River End who took the second wicket - with Worcestershire on 51 - as he had an l.b.w. appeal upheld as Kohler-Cadmore played half-forward.


Alex Hales had some early fortune splicing a prod into the leg-side against Allenby before spooning a drive over the head of cover against Wagg, followed by a thick inside edge which just missed the leg stump before hurtling away to fine-leg. Next over Mitchell also drove Wagg uppishly through the covers before greeting the return of Will Owen by pulling a short ball to the ropes at mid-wicket.


Hales then cover drove Tom Helm for four when the teenager return to the fray before the in-form Dean Cosker replaced Owen at the River End. Mitchell cut the spinner twice square of the wicket en route to completing a 109-ball fifty, but he responded by beating the outside edge of Hales' bat. The England Twenty20 star then brought up the hundred by pulling a short ball from Helm to the vacant mid-wicket boundary before striking Owen for four through the covers and for six over deep square-leg in successive deliveries as the lead went past the 200-mark.

The visitors began the afternoon session with a lead of 213 runs, with Graham Wagg and Dean Cosker bowling in tandem in a bid to thwart their progress. The third wicket pairing of Daryl Mitchell and Alex Hales picked up where they had left off before the interval and continued to accumulate in a serene way, with the former drilling Wagg through extra cover before dancing down the wicket to Cosker and lofting him straight for four.


Hales then completed his fifty by sweeping Cosker for four - his 72^nd delivery and seventh boundary - and the flurry of fours continued as next over Mitchell slapped a short ball from Wagg over the head of point. He then cover drove Allenby with aplomb before Hales drilled Cosker straight again for four.


Will Bragg then replaced Allenby at the Cathedral Road End, and he nearly added to his reputation of being a partnership breaker as Mitchell was almost caught behind off Bragg's first delivery. However, it was the wily Cosker who ended the stand as, with the total on 185, and a lead of 270, Hales was stumped attempting a sweep. This ended a stand of 134 in 35.3 overs as Alexei Kervezee joined Mitchell whose total time at the crease in the match had now exceeded ten hours.


Kervezee opened his account by lofting successive deliveries from Cosker to mid-wicket before scything another four in the spinner's next over to the boundary rope in front of the Pavilion before clipping Bragg to square-leg for another four as the lead went past the 300-mark.


Mitchell then completed his hundred as he steered Cosker into the covers for a single to become the first batsman to score a century in each innings of a Championship match against Glamorgan since Mark Butcher in 2006 at The Oval when the Surrey batsman made 151 and 108, with the Worcestershire captain also becoming the first visiting batsman to achieve the feat at the Cardiff ground.


Tom Helm then returned to the attack and saw his second delivery edged by Kervezee to first slip where Allenby failed to grasp the chance as he dived to his right. Mitchell then cover drove the teenager before pulling him for four, whilst Kervezee continued his assault on Cosker before lofting the spinner to wide long on where Stewart Walters held a smart running catch with Worcestershire on 243/4.


With Ross Whiteley as his new partner, Mitchell flat-batted Helm through the covers for another boundary before hoisting him over extra cover for six as the lead went past the 350-mark shortly before the tea interval.

As yesterday afternoon, steady rain started to fall during the tea interval and it delayed the resumption until 6.05pm with eleven overs remaining in the day's allocation. Worcestershire opted to continue batting with Will Owen and Dean Cosker resuming the bowling duties.


In the second over after resuming Ross Whiteley biffed Cosker to deep mid-wicket where Owen completed the catch. Mitchell then completed his 150 from 241 balls before Gareth Andrew smeared a four to fine-leg before being bowled by Cosker with Worcestershire on 293/6 and a lead of 380 runs. The visitors continued batting for a further three balls before declaring on 296/6 and leaving Glamorgan with five overs to face this evening.


Gareth Rees and Jacques Rudolph duly faced Gareth Andrew and Charlie Morris, but with just six on the board, Andrew yorked Rudolph in his second over. This brought night-watchman Dean Cosker to the crease and after pushing Andrew into the covers for two he nearly edged the all-rounder into the slips as the ball lobbed high over the fielders and ran away for four.

Cosker and Rees saw out the remaining two and a half overs as Glamorgan ended on 14/1.