Spinner George Drissell said his adopted Worcestershire side “will have to wait and see” how Lancashire approach play in the early parts of Monday morning before seeing if pressing for an outlandish final day victory is within reach of the Pears.
Having lost the entirety of day two to rain, and play being delayed for a further 90 minutes late on the third day, a total of 116 overs have been lost from an enterprising contest at Southport.
With the home side taking a slender 11-run lead into the final day, a draw seems the most likely result, and Drissell said fighting against the clock will make life tricky for the Pears, even after returning figures of 2-32 from his 16-over spell.
“I thought I bowled ok, I just tried to offer that holding role really. The seamers were making plenty happen on a pitch that offered a bit, so it was nice to get a couple myself.
“I think we did pretty well to get to 270, which feels like a decent total, but it feels like a pretty even contest at the moment.
“It is a shame we lost that day because I think the game is very well poised, and I reckon the pitch would have spun with an extra day’s play on it.
“We will see what happens and how they approach it in the morning, but it feels tricky to try and force a result with the time we have left.”
It has been a whirlwind week for the Durham-loanee, who joined the Pears ahead of this week’s clash with Southport in extraordinary circumstances.
After frontline spinner Fateh Singh went down with an injury in the 2nd XI’s midweek T20 fixture, Alan Richardson and his staff were left scouring the market for spin options.
Answering an eleventh-hour call on Wednesday morning, Drissell joined up with the squad in Southport on Thursday evening, before getting straight to work in his new colours on Friday.
After a restricted start to the season with his parent club, Drissell said it has been a refreshing experience to contribute to Worcestershire during a competitive Division Two clash.
“I have been preparing for what feels like a while now, and I haven’t had that chance to play much cricket, but I certainly didn’t think it would be coming for Worcestershire!
“It underlines why it is so important to stay fit and be ready because you never know when that chance is coming.
“It is really nice to be wanted and come into a side where I feel like I can contribute. 2nd XI opportunities have been limited. I actually played against Worcestershire for Durham a few weeks ago; the game was over in a day and a half, and I only bowled three overs!
“It can be hard at times to keep going, but I have really enjoyed the chance to come into this environment. I am good mates with Gareth Roderick, and he speaks really highly of things at Worcestershire, so when the call came in on Wednesday morning, I was straight in the car from training and made my way down here and got stuck in!”
