Ed Barnard is backing Worcestershire to bounce back from a challenging final session on day two of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Derbyshire at New Road.
Worcestershire will be looking to quickly wrap up the Derbyshire second innings tomorrow morning when the visitors will resume on 286-6 – a lead of 231.
Barnard, who scored 39 today and picked up the prize wicket of Wayne Madsen, remains confident about the game’s outcome.
The all-rounder said: “The mood in the dressing room? A little bit disappointing after that final session, but we’ve got to put it in the context of this game.
“We are still very much in this game, if not in a slightly better position. They are only 230 ahead, and if we can get a quick couple of wickets in the morning, then we are in a good spot.
“Those last couple of partnerships have hurt us a little bit from the position we were in.
“Like all season, as the ball got older and softer, it has got a lot easier to bat. I thought Wayne (Madsen) and Anuj (Dal), the way they played was excellent to get through that tough period when they came in.
“You saw in that last session that it got easier and easier to score when we probably didn’t quite hit our straps, but we are still in a good position to come back in the morning.
“When you get a big wicket like Madsen, and there are six wickets down, you’d hope to go bang, bang, and we probably didn’t quite get it right, which is a shame, and got slightly tired towards the end.
“But we will come back in the morning fresh and hopefully look to take those wickets as quickly as we can.
In terms of chasing down a total tomorrow, Barnard said: “We know wickets here get better, they don’t particularly deteriorate, but whatever score they get, if we can get a good start to our innings, we know we can chase anything here.
“We are still very confident. It will be getting through that first 20-30 overs, getting the ball nice and soft, like they had it for the final hour, and then hopefully it will be easier to bat on.”
