Chris Woakes returned his best figures of the season to bowl Warwickshire in to a strong position to push for their first home win this year and consolidate their place in the top flight. It is a different story for bottom-of-the-table Worcestershire who are doomed to pay a heavy price for their woeful batting and are all but condemned to relegation.
Forced to follow on 289 runs behind, Stephen Moore and Daryl Mitchell made serene progress for Worcestershire before the Birmingham-born Woakes made the breakthrough and in the blink of an eye, Worcestershire lost three wickets in eight balls.
Both openers perished playing careless shots becore Ben Smith departed to a brilliant, diving left-handed catch at point by Jim Troughton.
Mitchell fended a ball to Jonathan Trott at second slip and Moore, playing in his 100th first-class match, couldn’t have picked out Ian Bell more precisely as he steered the ball down to third man.
When bad light and rain stopped play with ten overs remaining, Vikram Solanki, the captain, and Moeen Ali had stopped the rot but the visitors need an inspirational performance on the final day to avoid a humiliating innings defeat.
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On the day he was awarded his county cap, Woakes, 20, made the most of helpful conditions in which the ball swung extravagantly, capturing four of the five wickets to fall before lunch as the visitors slumped to 90 for five. If their first priority was to avoid the follow-on, it didn’t show.
Only Smith, who lost his off stump to one that nipped away, and Solanki and Richard Jones who were trapped on the crease by full deliveries could claim that they hadn’t gifted their wickets.
Moore was also involved in an embarrassing run-out following a complete mix-up with his opening partner Daryl Mitchell – both finishing at the same end after Mitchell didn’t budge from his crease.
Bowling from the City End, Woakes, aided by two superb catches at third slip by Bell, did the damage taking five for 19 in 6.4 overs. Ali’s wretched season continued with his twelth single-figure dismissal in 24 innings, and Davies will be equally disappointed with his poor shot, reaching for a wide ball.
Naqaash Tahir, the Warwickshire opening bowler, has signed a new two-year contract with an optional third year subject to form and fitness.
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Warwickshire: First Innings 443 (I J Westwood 133, I J L Trott 93; R A Jones 6 for 100)
Worcestershire: First Innings (overnight 11-0)
D K H Mitchell c Ambrose b Woakes 30
S C Moore run out 5
*V S Solanki lbw b Woakes 27
B F Smith b Woakes 4
M M Ali c Bell b Woakes 0
S M Davies c Bell b Woakes 8
A N Kervezee c Botha b Tahir 33
G M Andrew c Ambrose b Sreesanth 0
R A Jones lbw b Tahir 24
M S Mason not out 8
Imran Arif b Rankin 1
Extras (lb 6, nb 8) 14
Total (48.1 overs) 154
Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-45, 3-63, 4-71, 5-83, 6-90, 7-97, 8-142, 9-153.
Bowling: Sreesanth 15-3-45-1; Tahir 12-3-25-2; Rankin 9.1-1-38-1; Woakes 12-5-40-5.
Second Innings
D K H Mitchell c Trott b Woakes 25
S C Moore c Bell b Rankin 63
*V S Solanki not out 10
B F Smith c Troughton b Woakes 0
M M Ali not out 10
Extras (b 1, lb 11, w 1, nb 2) 15
Total (3 wkts, 39.5) 123
Fall of wickets:1-91, 2-91, 3-95.
Bowling: Tahir 10-2-18-0; Rankin 10-0-46-1; Sreesanth 6.5-2-20-0; Woakes 10-3-18-2; Trott 3-1-9-0.
Umpires: J W Lloyds and R T Robinson.