All-rounder Joe Leach says Worcestershire will be looking to regain the momentum on day two after a topsy-turvy start to the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Gloucestershire at New Road.
Leach picked up four wickets and Gloucestershire were 45-7 at one stage before Tom Price’s century enabled them to make 231 as Worcestershire secured three bowling points.
Price then registered a hat-trick but Matthew Waite, a century maker against Derbyshire, continued his good form, and was unbeaten on 37 out of 118-7 at the close.
Leach said: “The first couple of hours were in our favour but ever since lunch really Gloucestershire have had the upper hand.
“We had a dream start, a dream first session. The way we bowled for the first nine wickets I thought we were outstanding as a group.
“It is probably the first time we have clicked this season which was nice to see and really exciting for what we can do in the future.
“I think we got put under a bit of pressure for that last wicket and probably didn’t execute quite as we would have liked in that period of play but credit to Tom Price and the number 11 who put together a fantastic partnership.
“Congratulations to Tom Price. He batted really well, he put us under pressure and was very clinical with the way he batted.
“That hat-trick was the icing on the cake for him. We’ve given Gloucestershire back some momentum
“But there is a lot of time left in this game and we’ve got to try and do similar back and retake some of that momentum and see where that takes us.”
Leach added: “I think the ball has done a lot, although it wasn’t exaggerated, and bowlers bowled well in patches against batters were new.
“There have been some poor shots, and batters on both sides probably haven’t covered themselves in glory.
“But in the evening Matthew Waite, Jake Libby and Ed Pollock looked untroubled for a large part of their innings.
“We will be trying to get as close as we can to their score and put them under pressure in the third innings.
“I’ve played a lot of first team cricket to know it is crunch time then.
“If we can do something similar to their top order like we did in the first innings that will put us in a really good position.
“In the morning it is about ticking off little ten run blocks for us and getting as close as we can to their total.
“Matthew (Waite) has looked in really good touch again which is nice to see. He played really well at Derby so fingers crossed we can get some more runs from him ton Friday.”
