Jake Libby defies the wickets clatter to set Worcestershire on course

Term has ended at Oakham and its various buildings are now rented out to summer schools. One of the results of this enterprise is that every so often crocodiles of overseas students pass behind the bowler's arm, unaware they are delaying a game. Of course, they may not realise a game is taking place. Perhaps they think this constant to-and-froing of men in white clothes is England's counterpart to the Japanese tea ceremony; perhaps they are right. Patience, acceptance and meditation certainly have something to do with it and at least two of those virtues are a constant presence in the batting of Jake Libby, a player who has done as much as anyone to make a Worcestershire victory the heaviest of probabilities at some stage tomorrow morning

Libby is one of those county cricketers who knows his game intimately, exploits his strengths carefully and rarely lets his team down. His 67 off 114 balls is the highest innings of this match so far and you might get the Nicaraguan national debt on that remaining the case. It was full of the controlled edges and stock-in-trade opener's nudges that have enabled Libby to average nearly fifty in his 41 first-class games for Worcestershire since his move from Nottinghamshire. More significantly in the context of this vital match at Doncaster Close, it helped his side build on a 68-run first-innings lead and challenge Leicestershire to score 238 to win.

That was already difficult enough before Josh Tongue arrived from Old Trafford to play in place of Adam Finch for the last three days of this game. Charging in from the Allotments End when Leicestershire had already lost Louis Kimber and Rishi Patel to the new ball, Tongue had limited impact in his opening spell. But after tea, he removed Peter Handscomb's off stump and had Wiaan Mulder caught behind for a second-ball duck. Those dismissals left Leicestershire on 53 for 5 and their tumbrils were rattling. Later in the evening session, Dillon Pennington had both Lewis Hill and Tom Scriven caught behind in the same over and the tricoteuses' needles clacked in the Close. Only the decision of the umpires to take the players off for bad light seemed to spare Leicestershire Madame Guillotine. But then neither of the officials had their troubles to seek today and they probably welcomed the early closure as well

Maybe we all did. Days on which 18 and 19 wickets fall rarely lack incident and it was probably difficult for even the most attentive spectator to isolate individual innings. At lunch, for example Worcestershire were 81 for 3, which they probably thought a reasonable return on a pitch which was only drying out properly on this second day. Chris Wright had taken the wickets of Gareth Roderick and Azhar Ali with the new ball and Matt Salisbury had removed Jack Haynes, strangled down the leg side, a fate which the departing batsman looked as though he wanted to inflict on Neil Bainton when he saw the umpire's finger raised.

Libby and Adam Hose added another 25 runs in the afternoon session before there was another clatter of wickets. Some were the result of good bowling: Libby was caught behind for 67 off one that nipped away from Mulder. Others were the consequence of brain-fazed batting: Joe Leach was run out attempting two runs only Frankel would have coasted and Josh Baker cut Matt Salisbury to Rishi Patel at deep point. Once again, Worcestershire supporters were grateful that their last-wicket pair, in this case Pennington and Tongue, could add 24 runs for the last wicket, for far too many cricketers have based their shot selection on what they feared the pitch would do rather than its actual performance.

Indeed, rather too much criticism has been vented on this Oakham wicket and indirectly on the head groundsman, Richard Dexter. True, the surface was very difficult on the first day, largely because it had been under cover for most of the previous five to protect it from the rain. However, when the sun got to work on it this morning, it played a little more easily and a few dismissals were caused as much by suspicion as reality.

That was what made Libby's innings such a fine effort although his strokes might not have brought any comfort to Benno and Stench. Two of Leicestershire's most loyal supporters, and particularly vocal on T20 nights at Grace Road, the pair established a base camp suitably close to the Social Science building on the first day of this game. From that vantage point, they saw Worcestershire subside quite slowly, which will have pleased them, and then Leicestershire collapse like disappointed divas on an awards evening, which will have brought them no such delight. Today's cricket followed a similar pattern so maybe it was propitious that their banner was missing as the wickets tumbled, the batters grumbled and the uncomprehending crocodiles approached the sightscreen.