Lace hits a ton as Derbyshire enjoy day two at Worcestershire

Lace finished the day 101 not out, while Wayne Madsen had earlier made 60 as Derbyshire managed 272-6 before the close of play on the second day.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice will also resume tomorrow, with the all-rounder yet to score, as Derbyshire take a lead of 267 runs into the third morning.

The opening pair of Billy Godleman and Luis Reece added 27 runs to Derbyshire’s overnight total of 19-0, before Reece was trapped lbw by Joe Leach in the sixth over of the day, while the captain fell for 26 when he was caught by Riki Wessels off Dillon Pennington in the next over.

Lace and Madsen set about halting the fall of wickets and managed to put on 50 runs before lunch, helping Derbyshire to a lead of 91 at the interval.

That lead moved into three-figures before Madsen brought up his half-century in 112 balls, which included eight fours as the partnership between he and Lace, the first fifty-run stand of the game, continued.

Madsen fell for 60 when he was caught by Pennington off Brett D’Oilveira, before Lace reached fifty in 141 balls, including seven fours. Leus du Plooy was caught by Callum Ferguson off Brett D’Oliveira for eight shortly after.

Having made a half-century in the second innings against Middlesex, Harvey Hosein again played a key role on Day Two in Kidderminster, making 33 runs in an 82-run stand with Lace before being caught by Dell off Ed Barnard.

Before the close of play, Matt Critchley edged a ball from Barnard which was caught by Daryl Mitchell to dismiss the Derbyshire all-rounder for a score of 13.

The 15th boundary of Lace’s innings came in the final over of the day, as the batsman brought up his second first-class century in 267 balls before the close of play, with Derbyshire 272-6, leading by 267.

Madsen left satisfied by Derbyshire's efforts

Wayne Madsen, who scored 60 for Derbyshire, said: “After the day we had yesterday, to come back and put on the score we have, we are pretty happy with the position we are in.

“It is quite a slow wicket and we found it pretty difficult to score, especially early doors in the morning after losing two wickets.

“Lacey (Tom Lace) and I were able to get together and ground it out for a long time and put on a decent partnership.

“The wicket got a little wet on Saturday afternoon when they had a club game here and it probably played a part in the (20) wickets yesterday.

“It has flattened out a little bit with the heavy roller on it twice. There is still movement out there but it is happening a little bit slower.

“It is starting to take a little turn and we are certainly getting into a position where we will be fancying our chances.

“I’ve huge respect for the way Tom (Lace) played today. He defended well, put the ball away when he needed to and he has put us in a really great position.”

Worcestershire paceman Dillon Pennington, who picked up two wickets, said: “It was a lot flatter and challenging to get your rewards. The balls we had were a lot different to yesterday as well.

“The first one we had today got real soft and didn’t do much and the second one we changed to again didn’t do much.

“Finally the (second) new ball did as bit more but it (the wicket) flattened out and we had to work a lot harder to get our rewards.

“The wicket dried out and it is quite a good pitch to bat on. It is pretty even bounce, there are no real demons. It is just a steady pitch to get your runs.

“But there is something in there if, like we did all day, just bash away and try and hit the top of off stump and we got some rewards early and late in the day.

“It is an ‘effort’ wicket. You have to put a lot in to get anything out of it.

“Tom Lace batted really well and wasn’t going anywhere. He nicked a few for and played and missed but wasn’t going anywhere and kept going.

“When we bat, we’ve just got to knuckle down like he did and hopefully get a win out of the game.”