Ed Barnard performed exceptionally well against his former county as Warwickshire established a dominant position in response to Worcestershire on the second day of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.
Barnard scored a fluent 89 from 124 balls as Warwickshire replied to the visitors' 360 all out by finishing the second day on 292 for 5. In his first red-ball innings against the county from which he joined the Bears, the 28-year-old batted with patience and style, hitting 11 fours and a six.
With the support of Will Rhodes (64 from 92 balls) and Dan Mousley (56 not out from 106), Barnard established a foundation for Warwickshire to exert significant pressure on their local rivals in the latter half of the game. While taking 20 wickets on a slow, batting-friendly pitch will be challenging, the home team will strive to create scoreboard pressure.
On the second morning, Worcestershire resumed at 316 for 7. Their hopes of building an imposing total were dashed by Chris Rushworth's excellent bowling (3 for 97). Rushworth, the former Durham player, dismissed Nathan Smith, caught at midwicket, and then bowled a superb away-cutter which Joe Leach edged to Rob Yates at second slip.
Jason Holder provided some late-order impetus before skying Michael Booth to deep point where Danny Briggs judged a difficult catch superbly in the strong wind. Worcestershire would have expected a higher total than 360, considering they were 235 for 2 on the first afternoon in favourable batting conditions.
Warwickshire's innings began well with Yates scoring briskly, but he was dismissed by Leach after inside-edging a drive onto his stumps. The present and former captains, Alex Davies and Rhodes, then put on 65 runs while the bowlers struggled to find their rhythm in the strong wind. After establishing himself as captain, Davies was disappointed to be dismissed for 36 when he mistimed a short ball from Adam Finch to midwicket. The following delivery from Finch produced a different outcome as Barnard elegantly hit it over long leg for a six on his first ball.
In his 100th first-class match, Rhodes passed 50 for the 33rd time. However, after leaving countless balls judiciously, he tried to guide Smith over the cordon and found only the hands of Holder at slip. At 179 for 3, the game was finely balanced, and further quick wickets would have given Worcestershire the ascendancy. Nevertheless, Barnard and Mousley settled in to add 69 in 22 overs either side of tea.
Barnard was 11 runs from a century against his former teammates when Finch won an lbw decision. The batsman left the field in disbelief at a decision that seemed open to debate on both height and direction. However, he had competently filled the No. 4 position left vacant by Sam Hain, who is absent from this match for personal reasons.
Worcestershire claimed a late bonus wicket when Jake Bethell hesitated on a second run and was caught out by Smith's throw. Meanwhile, Mousley reached a half-century in just 95 balls and will now aim for his first-ever first-class century.