County Championship D2, Worcester: Essex 373 v Worcestershire 367 & 98-6
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John Stephenson took five Worcestershire second innings wickets as Essex seized the initiative on day three at New Road.

The all-rounder's 5-22 left Worcestershire only 92 runs ahead with four wickets remaining.

To make matters worse, Stephen Peters cannot bat after breaking a finger and Andy Bichel has withdrawn from the fray with a tweaked hamstring.

Vikram Solanki was the first Worcestershire wicket to fall as he got an inside edge to a Stephenson delivery to be smartly caught by wicketkeeper Andy Flower for 15.

Habib successfully reached three figures

Stephenson struck another blow for Essex by removing Singh lbw for 23 and Graeme Hick made just 10 from as many deliveries before falling leg before to Ronnie Irani.

David Leatherdale (one) and Batty (four) fell cheaply soon after, both victims of Stephenson, who claimed his fifth wicket of the innings by bowling Ben Smith for 14 before rain bought an end to play 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

Earlier, Essex's Aftab Habib completed his century by cracking a cover drive to the boundary after resuming on 96 overnight.

But skipper Ronnie Irani was trapped lbw by left-arm seamer Alamgir Sheriyar after adding just two to his overnight score of 46.

Donald signs

Sheriyar immediately struck again, removing Stephenson for nought and Worcestershire made further inroads when Jon Dakin was bowled by off-spinner Gareth Batty for 24.

Essex had just passed Worcestershire's first-innings total when they lost the crucial wicket of Habib, who was run out by Ben Smith for 117 while attempting a quick single.

When Joe Grant was the last to go, bowled by Batty playing across the line, their first-innings lead stood at a mere six runs.

But Stephenson's bowling spell shifted the balance of power back to Essex.

It was not all bad news off the field for Worcestershire however, with the arrival of South African paceman Allan Donald as Bichel's replacement during Australia's one-day series with Pakistan in June.