D'Oliveira and Clarke put Glamorgan to the sword

Worcestershire 343 for 2 (D'Oliveria 152*, Clarke 105*) v Glamorgan
Scorecard

It was fifty-one years ago to the day that Basil D'Oliveira struck his maiden Championship century against Essex, a feat his grandson Brett repeated last week against the same opposition at New Road. He quickly added a second hundred in Cardiff against a Glamorgan attack who toiled with little reward on a good pitch that did offer something early on to the five seamers they had surprisingly selected ahead of a recognised spinner.

D'Oliveira was at the crease throughout the day for his career best 152 not out and his concentration never wavered although he was dropped twice and often played and missed early in his innings. He was well supported by Joe Clarke, who reached his hundred in the penultimate over of the day, as the pair added an unbroken 209.

D'Oliveira said: "I had to work hard out there today, probably harder than I did against Essex last week. They bowled well in the morning, and I had to be patient, play straight and keep digging in. We will have to keep on going tomorrow, and hope that the poor weather forecast doesn't materialise."

Although there was more grass than usual left on the pitch Worcestershire opted to bat after winning the toss, with Daryl Mitchell and D'Oliveira putting on 26, before Craig Meschede trapped Mitchell with one that nipped back in the seventh over.

This brought in Moeen Ali, playing his last game for the county before joining the England squad next week, and he unfurled some trademark cover drives as the second-wicket pair added 108. He was dropped on 5 - a difficult caught and bowled chance to Michael Hogan - but then was then rarely troubled until he drove ambitiously at Graham Wagg to give wicketkeeper Mark Wallace a routine catch.

Clarke, a talented 19-year-old batsman who played for England Lions last winter, then joined D'Oliveira to share another substantial partnership. D'Oliveira, who reached his 50 from 113 balls, went along at the same pace to reach his century - 114 balls later - and to say that he has come of age at the start of this season would certainly be an understatement. After making his debut in August 2012, until the end of last season he scored only 413 runs at an average of 21, but this year he has already made over 500 runs at an average of over 80.

Clarke made a shaky start, but as the pitch got easier and the bowlers lacked the venom they showed earlier in the day, he confirmed his promise and soon reached fifty with some powerful driving both sides of the wicket, and although the second new ball was taken, it made little difference to the scoring rate. Clarke went on to score his third first-class century of the season, although he was badly dropped from a caught and bowled chance on 83 by Wagg.