Gareth Roderick had a day to remember behind the stumps for Worcestershire on day three of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Middlesex at New Road.
Roderick picked up six catches and equalled the most taken by a Worcestershire player in a Championship match.
Only Hugo Yarnold and Ben Cox, with seven apiece, have taken more in an innings for Worcestershire, and they were in non-Championship first-class matches against Scotland (1951) and Oxford MCCU (2013) respectively.
It followed on from Roderick’s seven catches in the innings victory over Nottinghamshire at New Road last week.
But Worcestershire will go into the final day of the season looking to come away with a draw and preserve their unbeaten record since red ball cricket resumed at the start of September.
Middlesex resumed on 146-2 and totalled 509 all out in 145.3 overs.
Dillon Pennington was the pick of the Worcestershire bowlers and had figures of 27-6-69-2 with an economy rate of just 2.56 runs an over.
The remainder of the attack stuck to their task, but it was a challenge to bowl a sufficiently consistent line and length to be able to apply pressure on the Middlesex batters.
Middlesex added only nine runs before Josh Tongue made the first breakthrough.
Max Holden (44) nibbled at a ball which left him, and keeper Roderick held onto a low catch.
There was a considerable amount of playing and missing in the opening half hour and a delay as the transfers on Steve Eskinazi’s bat were leaving marks on the ball.
Pieter Malan had scored 141 and 77 not out for Warwickshire in a Championship match on the same ground last summer and looked well set for another century.
But on 93, he was confronted by a ball of ball of extra bounce from Matthew Waite, which cut back into him, and he nicked through to Roderick.
John Simpson and Steve Eskinazi started to play with more freedom and
Worcestershire Club Captain, Brett D’Oliveira, brought himself into the attack for the first spin of the match.
Simpson completed 1,000 runs in a season for the first time and looked set for a fourth hundred of the season.
But on 92, he was bowled behind his legs by Ben Gibbon after adding 157 with Eskinazi.
Eskinazi cut Gibbon for two to complete a 179 ball hundred with 16 fours.
Roderick held onto a fine catch running back from behind the wicket to dismiss Ryan Higgins from the last ball before tea by Barnard.
Luke Hollman (9) gave Roderick another scalp off Waite and then catch number six for the keeper away to his left finally accounted for Eskinazi on 115 on Pennington’s return to the attack.
Jake Libby had a rare bowl and had Ethan Bamber caught at cover and Tim Murtagh at mid on.
