COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO, Derby:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Worcestershire 279 and 70-3, Derbyshire 405
Derbys 8pts, Worcs 5pts
Match scorecard

Greg Smith faced 163 balls for his 91, hitting 11 fours

Derbyshire built a first-innings lead of 126 before taking three late wickets to leave Worcestershire facing a tough battle to avoid defeat at Derby.

Greg Smith (91) received solid support from Steffan Jones (40) and Lee Goddard (38) as Derbyshire totalled 405.

Jones then had Dave Wheeldon caught behind for 14, and Mark Footitt dismissed Vikram Solanki for three.

Robin Peterson dismissed Moeen Ali in the final over to leave Worcestershire 70-3, 56 behind.

The match was in the balance at the start of the day, with Derbyshire 96 runs behind with six wickets intact but the home side slowly gained the initiative.

Smith and Dan Redfern batted through the first 18 overs before Matt Mason finally struck with the new ball when Redfern was well caught at second slip by Daryl Mitchell for 19.

The bowlers were then held up by Smith and Peterson as the sixth-wicket pair put on 71 in 22 overs to take Derbyshire past 300.

Smith looked set for a hundred until he drove Moeen's off-spin loosely to short extra cover, and Derbyshire were only 45 runs on when Peterson was caught at short leg to give Shakib Al Hasan (3-94) his first Worcestershire wicket.

But Jones mixed watchful defence with some punishing blows, including two big sixes over midwicket, to score 40 off 43 balls.

Wheeldon had batted for more than three hours for 20 in the first innings and was again threatening to stand in Derbyshire's way when Jones broke through with the last ball of his second over.

Worcestershire suffered another blow five overs later when skipper Solanki got a good ball from Footitt that left him and Chris Rogers dived forward at first slip to hold a fine catch.

The hosts were gifted a big scalp off the penultimate ball of the day when Moeen drove loosely at Peterson and sliced a catch to point to leave Derbyshire scenting victory.

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