Worcestershire v Hampshire LVCC Day 2 5th September
James Tomlinson
High five for Tomlinson
ECB Match Report
A five-wicket haul by James Tomlinson enabled title-chasing Hampshire to tighten their grip over relegated Worcestershire in the LV County Championship Division One match at Kidderminster.
The left-arm paceman took 5-78 to dismiss Worcestershire for 289 in 73.1 overs in reply to Hampshire's 444 off 123.5 overs.
Despite battling half-centuries from Steven Davies and Abdul Razzaq, the hosts fell just six runs short of their follow-on target of 295.
Hampshire captain Shane Warne, however, decided to add to his side's 155-run first-innings advantage and by the close they had stretched their healthy overall lead to 167 by reaching 12 without loss.
Warne employed similar tactics when he did not enforce the follow-on in last month's match between the two sides when Hampshire triumphed by 285 runs at Southampton.
The visitors quickly began turning the screw when they resumed on 349 for five off 104 overs with Michael Lumb - 36 overnight - progressing to 63, which occupied 127 balls and contained nine fours.
Sean Ervine was first to go when he hooked Nadeem Malik to Daryl Mitchell at third slip.
He had put on 69 in 19 overs with Lumb, who fell to a comfortable catch at second slip by Graeme Hick off Razzaq.
Warne chipped in with a bright and breezy 46 off 30 balls before being stumped by Davies off spinner Ray Price, who is making his first championship appearance of the season. Warne's entertaining knock included two sixes and six fours.
Razzaq also accounted for Shaun Udal and when James Bruce was last man out, Hampshire had scored 260 of their runs in boundaries - two sixes and 62 fours.
Any hopes Worcestershire had of making a solid start to their reply rapidly evaporated when they slumped to 28 for three inside the first nine overs.
Mitchell was removed for a duck by Tomlinson while Moeen Ali, making his championship debut for Worcestershire, departed to an excellent one-handed diving catch by wicket-keeper Nic Pothas off seamer Bruce.
Bruce also struck before lunch to trap Ben Smith lbw and give Worcestershire a sinking feeling which continued after the interval when Stephen Moore top-edged a hook off Tomlinson to Pothas.
Hopes of Hick digging his side out of a hole subsided when he played across a Tomlinson delivery and was trapped lbw, leaving Davies and Razzaq to shoulder a heavy burden of responsibility.
Although Razzaq offered a difficult chance to Lumb at slip off Warne while on 13, they responded in style with Davies reaching his fifty off 83 balls with seven fours.
The young wicket-keeper looked set for his first championship century for a year when he pushed forward in Warne's 10th over and offered a catch to Michael Brown at short-leg. His 84 contained 14 fours and spanned 124 balls.
Gareth Batty became a fourth victim for Tomlinson and Warne ousted Roger Sillence before Razzaq completed his first half-century for Worcestershire.
Tomlinson secured the second five-wicket haul of his career by removing Price before Ervine dismissed Razzaq for 78, which included two sixes and 12 fours. He put on 48 for the last wicket with Malik.
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