Fifties by Daniel Lategan and Matthew Waite enabled Worcestershire to a post a competitive 270 in their first innings on the opening day of the County Championship match at Southport.
That represented a fine recovery after the visitors had collapsed to 107-6 half an hour after lunch. Lategan’s 53 had been responsible for almost half those runs but Waite then shared four partnerships, none of them worth less than 25 runs, before being last out for 77.
The most successful Lancashire bowler was George Balderson, who finished with 3-62, and the home side were 28 without loss at the end of a day when well over 1,500 spectators had crowded into this beautifully presented outground.
Worcestershire got to lunch on 95-2, both the dismissed batsmen had fallen to slip catches by Keaton Jennings, Jake Libby for 21 when trying to drive a ball from James Anderson that tempted him into the stroke, and Gareth Roderick for a five-ball single when feeling for a Balderson delivery outside the off stump.
But Lategan had reached his fifty off 68 balls with a four to fine leg off Paul Coughlin and had unveiled his array of off-side attacking shots on what appeared a true pitch.
The afternoon session began atrociously for Worcestershire, who collapsed to 107-6 inside eight overs. Kashif Ali was the first to go when he was squared up and trapped lbw by Balderson for 16 but the next over brought the real drama as Tom Bailey dismissed Lategan for 53 and Brett D’Oliveira first ball, both batsmen being caught behind by Matthew Hurst.
Worcestershire’s grim half-hour was completed was Adam Hose’s irresponsible slash only edged a catch to Harry Singh at second slip.
The visitors’ decline was arrested by Waite, who survived Bailey’s hat-trick ball, and Tom Taylor. The pair put on 68 for the seventh wicket before Taylor was lbw to Coughlin for a 42-ball 41 that had included a six onto the railway line off Balderson.
Waite then added a further 36 for the eighth wicket with Beyers Swanepoel before the South African was lbw to Tom Hartley for 21.
Hartley then took his 100th first-class wicket when he had George Drissell, who is on a week’s loan from Durham, stumped by Hurst for 17 but Adam Finch ensured Worcestershire secured a batting point before Waite was very well caught by Singh at deep backward point off Anderson.
That left Lancashire with eleven overs to bat and the opening pair, Balderson and Jennings survived until the close.
Both these sides are hoping to avoid a third successive defeat and Lancashire’s hopes received a blow on the morning of the match when Marcus Harris was ruled out with illness.