Youngsters ram home Worcestershire's advantage

Gloucestershire 245 and 189 for 5 v Worcestershire 388
Scorecard

When Worcestershire finished bottom of division one of the Championship last season, few could have thought they would mount a promotion challenge this season. It wasn't just that they didn't win a first-class game in 2009. It was that several of their leading players - Kabir Ali, Stephen Moore, Steve Davies and Gareth Batty - chose to leave New Road and that their director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, was obliged to cut £300,000 from the cricket budget to make ends meet. 2010 was, as a consequence, expected to be about finding consolation in defeat and loking for the green shoots of recovery as a new side developed.

Yet they go into the final day of this championship match against Gloucestershire with a great chance of securing their fourth victory in seven games. And, if they are to do so, they will rise to second position in the table. That's a remarkable achievement. With so much of the team departing last year and little budget to replace them, Rhodes was instead obliged to rely on a few experienced signings - the likes of Alan Richardson and Ben Scott - and a host of young talent.

All have served him well. Richarson, who bowled beautifully on the third day here without due reward, has a creditable 31 Championship wickets at just 22.83 apiece, while Scott remains one of the best keepers on the circuit and an underrated batsman. But it's the young talent that has been particularly productive. 23-year-old Richard Jones has led the way with the ball, while 20-year-old Alexei Kervezee and 22-year-old Moeen Ali have led the way with the bat. If the club can keep hold of them - and their success will alert a number of willing suitors - they should form the basis of a decent side for years to come.

Certainly they've earned a strong position here. After carving out an imposing first innings lead, they made deep inroads into Gloucestershire's somewhat fragile batting line-up before Chris Taylor and James Franklin resisted for the last 15 overs. Poor weather may be Worcestershire's greatest foe on the last day here. The forecast is not wholly encouraging.

Perhaps Gloucestershire were a little unfortunate. They were convinced they had Moeen Ali caught behind in the first over of the day, bowled by Jon Lewis, but the umpire disagreed. Had the decision gone the visitors' way, Worcestershire would have been 229 for 7 and contemplating a small first innings advantage. As it was Moeen went on to record the second century of his first-class season (from 135 balls with 15 fours) and the fourth of his career. His innings helped Worcestershire add 167 for their final four wickets and establish a lead of 143. In the context of this low scoring match, it was a substantial advantage.

Very nicely he batted, too. Though he never looked secure just outside off stump - a weakness that will have to be rectified if he is to progress to a higher level - he produced some delightful strokes when the ball was in his area; the lofted drives off the left-arm spin of Vikram Banerjee and some punched drives off the seamers were especially pleasing.

Even more impressive, however, was the batting of Ben Scott. Dropped from the Middlesex side due to concerns over his batting, Scott is beginning to make a strong case for a recall. After an innings of 98 in the previous match, against Sussex, he here compiled his third half-century of the season to help his side to a fourth bonus point. Particularly good on the pull, Scott also drove strongly and produced two impudent reverse sweeps for four off the luckless Banerjee.

Though Moeen eventually drove to short mid-on and Scott played around a straight one, Matt Mason then weighed-in with a jolly 18-ball cameo. Using his height and strength, he clobbered three sixes as the last wicket added 36 to take the game further out of Gloucestershire's reach. It must have been particularly galling for Banerjee, who saw Jack Shantry reprieved twice by Jonathan Batty: first when the keeper dropped a chance off Shantry's first ball and soon afterwards when he spurned a stumping.

In reply, Gloucestershire soon lost Steve Snell, edging a loose drive, before Chris Dent was caught behind as he attempted an oddly violent pull. Generally, however, their batsmen showed more application than in the first innings. Batty and Hamish Marshall were compact, with the former unleashing some pleasing cuts and the latter driving fluently. Both paid the price, however, for prodding outside off stump, while Alex Gidman's departure, caught off the glove as he tried to leave one, illustrated that the pitch still offered assistance to the seamers.

In normal circumstances, Gloucestershire might hold out hopes that they can extend their lead of 46 into something challenging. Without Steve Kirby, however, who will undergo a scan on his sore back in the next day or so, they surely lack the firepower to take advantage. This game is Worcestershire's to lose.