Hick hits 40,000

Graeme Hick

Graeme Hick reached 40,000 first-class runs but it was Stephen Moore who played the leading role in earning Worcestershire a first-innings lead against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Hick became only the 16th player to reach the landmark in the LV County Championship Division One clash when he reached 49 - a tally he failed to add to before falling to South Africa paceman Dale Steyn.

Hick left the field to a standing ovation but the foundations for Worcestershire’s 399 all out in reply to Warwickshire’s 343 had already been laid by Moore.

The 26-year-old had registered his first century since the 2005 campaign with 143 in his previous championship innings against Surrey and he followed it up with a grafting 112 from 270 balls with 17 fours.

But Warwickshire were left to regret dropping Moore on three occasions - on nought, 55 and 60 - before he was caught behind by Tim Ambrose off James Anyon.

It was a similar scenario to Warwickshire’s first-innings centurion, Jim Troughton, who had also profited from being put down before he had troubled the scorers.

But it is hard to see how title-chasing Warwickshire or bottom-placed Worcestershire will be able to manufacture a positive result on the final day given the loss of more than 100 overs to bad weather.

Worcestershire resumed on 77 for one and Moore and captain Vikram Solanki extended their second-wicket partnership to 81 in 24 overs before the latter, on 41, tried to leave a Tim Groenewald delivery only for the ball to balloon off his bat to first slip.

The scoring then virtually dried up, with Ben Smith taking 31 balls to get off the mark and Moore going into his shell and scoring only 37 in the morning session.

Smith (34) eventually fell to a bat-pad catch by Darren Maddy, running backwards, off Troughton after adding 56 in 26 overs with Moore.

That signalled the entrance of Hick and after, making 12, he became only the second Worcestershire player after Don Kenyon to achieve 30,000 first-class runs for the county.

Moore had finally been dismissed - fourth out with the score on 268 in the 91st over - before Hick cut Steyn to the boundary to reach the 40,000-run milestone.

Steyn had his revenge when Hick was caught behind to a delivery which lifted and left him in the penultimate over before tea.

Useful contributions from wicket-keeper Steven Davies (26) and Gareth Batty (25) steered Worcestershire - beaten by an innings in the meeting with the Bears at New Road in May - into the lead in increasingly murky light.

Then a rapid 39 from Kabir Ali took Worcestershire to within five runs of a fifth batting point before he became Steyn’s third victim.

But with only one required to reach 400, Doug Bollinger had his off stump knocked back by Anyon to leave Worcestershire with a first-innings advantage of 56.