Kidderminster's cricket festival set to roll on as Worcestershire take narrow lead over Sussex

Worcestershire 262 for 7 (Ferguson 56, Wessels 55, Cox 53*) lead Sussex 255 (Brown 80, Jordan 52) by seven runs

Worcestershire's unscheduled relocation to Chester Road is turning into something of a Kidderminster Festival. The water level is falling following last week's floods at New Road but next Tuesday's one-day match against Australia A will now take place here and the Championship fixture against Derbyshire early next month must be under consideration.

This has not been a regular venue for first-class cricket since Worcestershire's annual excursions ended in 2002, soon after the Championship adopted its two-division format. Facilities may be basic compared with headquarters grounds, but the pitches are good and the outfield well manicured, which are the primary requirements.

"Kidderminster have a really fine ground here and to maintain a surface that is first-class standard and to be able to throw a game on at such short notice is a real credit to the club," Worcestershire's Australian batsman, Callum Ferguson, said. "We're really appreciative of them being able to help us after the floods at New Road."

Ferguson, whose half-century has helped Worcestershire take a marginal advantage, admitted his jaw dropped when he saw the water from the flood plain behind the ground engulf the playing area. "I genuinely could not believe my eyes. It had just turned summer, officially, and to see the water come streaming into the town - my wife, Rhiannon, and I kept going down to New Road every few hours to check it out because it was just something we'd never seen before."

Worcestershire may be more keen to return here if they can fashion a win this week. They need it. After wins in their first two fixtures marked them down as a sound bet for promotion, they have been beaten twice and were bowled out for 98 before by Lancashire before last week's deluge descended.

Their fortunes have mirrored those of Riki Wessels, their signing from Nottinghamshire, who made his first century for his new county in an impressive victory over Durham in May but subsequently delivered only a succession of disappointments, out six times for seven runs or fewer, including three ducks.

He is not a batsman to allow negative returns to temper his approach, however, and this time it paid off, helped by the variable quality of Sussex's pace bowling. Where Ollie Robinson and Chris Jordan posed questions repeatedly, it was less true of their Abi Sakande and David Wiese, against whom Wessels plundered all of his 10 boundaries, three of them in the same over against the former.

Wessels and Ferguson mounted a good response after Robinson, who has been in impressive form since returning from a shoulder injury, had reduced Worcestershire to 11 for 2. Daryl Mitchell, another for whom runs are proving elusive, perished for an 11-ball duck, Laurie Evans taking a fine catch at second slip.

Jordan stopped Wessels making any more than 55 of his return to prosperity, inducing an edge that Robinson held at second slip. The third-wicket pair added 93 in 25 overs.

Ferguson completed his half-century just before tea, at which point Worcestershire were well placed to build on a creditable performance by their bowlers, who had made Sussex work hard to fashion a recovery from 102 for 6 on day one, and again on the second morning, when Sussex form player, Ben Brown, could add only one boundary to his overnight tally in an hour and a half before he was last man out for 80.

Jordan inflicted a double blow soon afterwards, removing Ross Whiteley and Ferguson in the space of five balls, but Ed Barnard batted solidly and his partnership with Ben Cox, who gritted his way to the third half-century of the innings, added a further 74 to edge Worcestershire in front.

"It was disappointing that Ross and I were out so close together but the boys batted smartly towards the end and it has given us every chance to put together a bigger lead," Ferguson said.

"There is enough in the pitch for the bowlers and we had to graft. Jordan managed to get the ball up and swinging and we know that he is extremely skillful and a real competitor. They made us fight for every run and after the start we had it was a really pleasing effort to get to where we are now."