Gloucestershire destroyed by Lampitt and Sheriyar

Stuart Lampitt and Alamgir Sheriyar bowled Worcestershire to a first innings lead of 151 on the second day at Bristol.

But, with most spectators expecting Graeme Hick to enforce the follow-on, the skipper decided against it and was one of the batsmen to fall as his side struggled to 21-2 in their second innings by the close.

Gloucestershire must have been relieved after their woeful batting display of the afternoon on an easy-paced pitch.

Lampitt claimed 5-22 from 12.5 overs, sent down in two spells, while Sheriyar returned 3-46 from 21 overs. Both seamers were accurate and in good rhythm, but that hardly accounted for the home side plunging to 67-5 in reply to 326.

Jeremy Snape showed that runs could be made with the right application, hitting 69 off 122 balls, with 10 fours, after coming in at number seven. He was last man out, chopping a ball from Lampitt onto his stumps, with his side still two runs short of avoiding the prospect of being asked to bat again.

With the weather still overcast, the final 13 overs of the day were always going to be testing for the batsmen, which made Hick's decision a surprising one.

Anurag Singh soon edged Jon Lewis to slip and the captain himself had made only two when pinned lbw by James Averis. Presumably, Hick felt the pitch was deteriorating, but that can be a dangerous assumption at Bristol.

The day had begun with Worcestershire adding only 28 to their overnight score of 298-6 as Lewis made good use of the new ball to claim three of the last four wickets for figures of 5-71.