Worcestershire enjoyed a successful day with both bat and ball as they took two late wickets on the third day at Edgbaston, pegging Warwickshire back in their pursuit of 393, with the visitors requiring eight wickets for victory heading into the final day.
Gareth Roderick made a composed fifty early in the day, before the away side had Ethan Brookes (87) to thank as the Pears battled back from 121-4 in testing conditions, as Brookes and Adam Finch put on 91 for the ninth-wicket.
After being dismissed for 243, Worcestershire set Warwickshire 393, with just under four sessions remaining in the match.
Khurram Shahzad and Tom Taylor both made vital breakthroughs late on in the day, as the visitors restricted their opponents to 55-2 at the close, requiring eight-wickets on the final day to secure a crucial Rothesay County Championship win.
Looking to build on an ideal end to the previous evening, openers Gareth Roderick and Jake Libby made their way down the steps from the away dressing room to similar gloomy overhead conditions that had been ever-present across the opening two days.
The pair batted with poise and composure as they made their way to an opening partnership of 50, midway through the opening passage of the morning.
Roderick, pushed on in fine style, bringing up his third Rothesay County Championship half-century of the season, showing great patience throughout his 107 balls he faced to reach the milestone.
The Worcestershire gloveman was unable to add to his tally however, as he was caught behind moments later when looking to access the short boundary, feathering the ball through to Kai Smith, as the impressive opening stand of 80 was ended.
Libby, made his way to 25 in assured fashion, before mis-timing a pull shot to midwicket, where he was caught, before Kashif Ali was unstuck after an uncomfortable 28-ball stay at the crease when he was also caught looking to access the on-side.
Skipper Brett D’Oliveira came together with Adam Hose, as the experienced pair navigated a tricky spell in worsening conditions to see their side through to lunch unscathed at 103-3.
The batters re-emerged from the interval in resolute mood, adding 21 to the total as the pair fended off the regular threat from the Warwickshire seamers, whilst also playing spin watchfully, on a pitch continuing to assist the bowlers as the match progressed.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the middle-order collapse that followed was precisely what they had worked so hard to avoid.
In a damaging period, the Pears lost four wickets for eight runs, as the momentum swung back the way of the hosts and Worcestershire wobbled at 132-7.
Hose (23) was first bowled by Ethan Bamber as he looked to advance down the wicket, before captain D’Oliveira feathered a straight ball to leg-slip as he looked to work a turning ball off his pads to depart for 16.
Tom Taylor and Ben Allison both fell within six balls of one another, as Worcestershire struggled to stem the flow of wickets.
With the in-form and first-innings standout Ethan Brookes still not-out at the other end, loan-signing Bertie Foreman came to the middle looking to bring some calm to the crease and play a supporting act to the middle-order batter, who held the key to Worcestershire’s chances in the contest.
Foreman helped add 18 with Brookes, as the side searching for Division One safety reached 150, before the left-hander was caught acrobatically at second-slip as the visitors woes deepened.
Not for the first time this match, or indeed this campaign, the onus fell on Brookes to steer his side out of trouble.
In a superb rearguard, he and and Adam Finch, who had added 88 during their partnership in the first-innings, began their repost in the 61st over, with Brookes starting cautiously and Finch playing an excellent supporting act.
Brookes, played with superb tempo, upping the ante as his innings went on, replicating his majestic knock from the first-innings, finding the short boundary with ease, expanding his stroke play off the hosts bowling attack as he batted with real maturity on his way to a fine half-century.
The former bears all-rounder raised his bat after facing just 56 deliveries, having struck four-fours and five-sixes in another quality display of batting, shortly before he and Finch raised their fifty partnership, with Finch still unbeaten after facing 21 balls in a stubborn repost for the ninth-wicket.
The pair batted on after the tea interval, taking the lead beyond 350 as Worcestershire balanced their lead and time remaining in the game aware that taking 10 more wickets in the final innings was the overriding objective.
They took the score to 241-9, when Brookes’ excellent knock was brought to an end by a stunning catch on the square-leg boundary by Oliver Hannon-Dalby, as the 24-year-old fell 13 runs short of another deserved century, departing after hitting the most sixes by any batter in a match at Edgbaston.
Finch fell in the next over after a valiant stay at the crease, as Warwickshire would face a challenging spell before stumps to begin their chase of 393 to win the match.
Khurram Shahzad needed just five balls to make the first breakthrough, as he trapped Rob Yates LBW for 8, before Tom Taylor struck early in his spell to reduce their opponents to 12-2, as the pears hunted more scalps in ideal bowling conditions.
Worcestershire were unable to take anymore wickets, as Warwickshire ended the day 55-2, as the Pears head into the final day at Edgbaston needing eight wickets to secure a crucial Division One win and a first win at Edgbaston since 1993.
