Vasconcelos ton gives Northants edge over Worcs
Ricardo Vasconcelos' superb 115 helps Northamptonshire into a 60-run lead over Worcestershire on day two of the County Championship Division Two match at Wantage Road.
Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, County Ground, Northampton (day two) Worcestershire 306: Roderick 164*, Lategan 32, Brookes 32; Sanderson 4-78 Northamptonshire 366-5: Vasconcelos 115, Zaib 75, Sales 44*; Taylor 2-60 Northamptonshire 3pts, Worcestershire 2pts Match scorecard Ricardo Vasconcelos struck a superb second century of the season as Northamptonshire took a 60-run lead over Worcestershire after day two of the County Championship Division Two match at Wantage Road. It was a contrasting innings of watchful defence and crisp strokeplay, as Vasconcelos struck 18 boundaries in his 115, to follow his 127 against Kent last month. He was joined by Saif Zaib in a proactive fourth-wicket stand of 101 in 20 overs.
County cricket's leading run-scorer last season, Zaib has had limited opportunities so far but seized his chance with a near run-a-ball 75. When the pair were parted, James Sales (44) and George Bartlett (35) combined in a telling unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 79 against the new ball to push Northamptonshire in front. They closed on 366-5, leading by 60, as bad light ended play early.
Tom Taylor (2-60) and Oliver Hannon-Dalby threatened all day for the Pears, finding late swing with the second new ball, while Beyers Swanepoel also took two wickets. Earlier, Northamptonshire resumed on 40-0 and soon lost skipper Luke Procter when Taylor got one to lift sharply and hit the splice of the bat, the ball flying to second slip. Calvin Harrison edged his first ball past the slips to bring up Northamptonshire's 50 before driving sweetly in Taylor's next over, and he and Vasconcelos were progressing nicely, adding 43 off 55 balls, when Harrison inside-edged a Beyers Swanepoel delivery onto his stumps.
Vasconcelos motored to fifty with three consecutive boundaries, crunching Swanepoel through the covers and pulling him behind square. He tucked into Adam Finch's bowling too, going down on one knee to stroke him through cover and playing an audacious uppercut over the slips. He put on 77 for the third wicket with Nathan McSweeney who initially found life difficult during a probing spell from Waite.