Triallist Kashif Ali top-scored for Worcestershire Seconds on day one of their Second Eleven Championship match with Northamptonshire at the County Ground, Northampton.
Pakistan-born Kashif struck 80 off 103 balls with 11 fours as Worcestershire, who were put in to bat, reached 228-3 at one stage before a late flurry of wickets meant they closed on 253-7.
Kashif earned a trial at New Road after scoring a half-century against the Seconds when playing for the South Asian Cricket Academy in a two-day friendly.
The 24-year-old has also been playing National Counties cricket for Bedfordshire this summer.
Tom Fell (11), on the ground where he scored a memorable first class hundred in the Bob Willis Trophy two years ago, went lbw to a ball which nipped back in from Curtley White.
Gareth Roderick, captaining the side in this game, and opener Taylor Cornall then added 82 for the second wicket.
White returned to the attack to break the stand shortly after lunch when Cornall (35) edged a ball which moved away from the left-hander.
Roderick (42) then hit a wide and short delivery from Brandon Glover into the hands of backward point.
Kashif and Jacques Banton then joined forces during a fluent stand of 96 in just 25.2 overs.
They lifted the total to 228-3, but then Banton (45) was run out after a smart piece of fielding from Ben Curran.
Kashif went to sweep leg spinner Alex Russell, and the ball ran away behind the keeper on the leg side.
But Banton set off for a single, tried to regain his ground but failed to beat Curran’s direct hit after he had quickly moved around from first slip.
It was the start of the loss of four wickets for ten runs.
Ismail Mohammed (1) took a step forward to Russell and was stumped before White picked up two wickets in the first over with the second new ball.
Kashif’s fine knock ended when he edged to first slip, and two balls later, another triallist in Roshan Balaji (0) was cramped up by a delivery from White and played on.
Bad light halted play after 85 overs, and Henry Cullen and Ben Gibbon will be at the wicket when play resumes on Tuesday.
