A half century from Riki Wessels has left Nottinghamshire’s Specsavers County Championship match against Worcestershire firmly in the balance.
 
Wessels scored 60, having made his runs from 79 balls, with nine fours, as Notts closed on 138 for five, in their second innings, a lead of 88.
 
Momentum swung between the top two sides in the Division Two table, with 388 runs being scored during the day, for the loss of 16 wickets.
 
Notts were still batting in their first innings at the start of play but were soon dismissed for 193, with Joe Leach taking the final wicket to fall, to finish with figures of three for 47.
 
Worcestershire responded by making 243, a lead of 50. Ed Barnard, who took four wickets on the first day, scored 55, making his runs from 72 balls, with eight fours.
 
 
Steven Mullaney took four of the wickets, at a personal cost of only 31, with Brett Hutton and Jake Ball sharing the other six.
 
When play began Ball was dismissed for just five to the ninth ball of the day, edging Joe Leach to first slip.
 
In Worcestershire’s reply, George Rhodes and Daryl Mitchell added 38 for the first wicket, a partnership that was broken by Hutton.
 
Mitchell, on 23, pushed at the all-rounder and nicked behind to Chris Read. From a position of some promise, Worcestershire then slid to 56 for four, with Steven Mullaney removing Tom Fell and Joe Clarke with successive deliveries, before Hutton had Brett D’Oliveira caught at third slip.
 
Ravi Ashwin signalled his intentions by hitting his second scoring shot over the extra cover ropes for six, just before lunch.
 
 
Cox and Barnard’s stand spanned 12 overs and was ended when Wessels took a sharp catch at first slip to send back the Worcestershire ‘keeper.
 
At the other end Barnard’s 50 had come from 58 balls and he appeared untroubled until being pinned lbw on the back leg.
 
Leach swung the bat, to good effect, in making 28, as did Jack Shantry, who was last out, for an entertaining 20.
 
Nottinghamshire’s second innings was soon in disarray as Leach nipped out both Mullaney and Cheteshwar Pujara. The deficit was still 25 when Samit Patel clipped Josh Tongue to Ashwin at midwicket. 
 
Alex Hales, playing his last red ball innings of the summer, could only make 12 before being taken by a sharp, low, catch at third slip by Clarke.
 
Wessels played positively from the off, reaching his 50 from 65 balls in just one hour of batting. He received solid support in a partnership of 85 with opener Jake Libby, who remains undefeated on 42.