DAY 2 Close: Worcestershire 126-2 trail Gloucestershire 480 by 354 runs (PTS: Worcs 1, Glos 4)
LIVE ball-by-ball commentary on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Gloucestershire will need to enforce the follow-on at Cheltenham to win this match. But the toil that the home bowlers endured in the evening session suggests this match is destined for a draw.
Daryll Mitchell and Moeen Ali - a centurian against Gloucestershire at New Road earlier in the season - found the going particularly easy under brightening skies and there was no joy for the seamers or Vikram Banerjee.
The wickets that did fall were slight misjudgements of line and it will take more disciplined bowling to create enough pressure to bowl Worcestershire out for under 330. If they eclipse that mark, this game will be a draw, and a boring one at that.
Gloucestershire built their way to 480 earlier in the day but playing so patiently despite being completely on top, that they failed to take maximum batting points. An absolutely travesty. It was lazy cricket, there was no impetus and a target that the batsmen should have sailed past wasn't overcome.
That took the gloss of James Franklin's hundred. His innings contained none of the pizazz that saw Will Porterfield's ton greeted with cheering not heard since Virginia Wade won at Wimbledon but it was an excellent innings that proved centuries can be made.
The home side did lose 4-18 to end their innings a touch prematurely but even 47 overs at the visiting batsmen wasn't enough to make more than two breakthroughs. A struggle may follow.
LIVE coverage continues tomorrow on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
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