worcestershire opener martin guptill, who scored a century on his championship debut for the county, gave his reaction to day two of the specsavers county championship match with lancashire at New Road.
guptill’s opening partner, daryl mitchell, scored two centuries in a match for the fourth time in his career, as worcestershire closed on 361-4 – a lead of 478.
the new zealand star said: “i enjoyed that. it was nice to spend a bit of time out in the middle after having three months off.
“it’s slowly coming back. today is only the third time i’ve faced bowlers in the last three months so it’s good to get that timing and my movements back in order.
“having batted today, i’m sure it’s not going to be long before they are fully back.
“it’s nice to play positively and take the game away from lancashire like we did.
“we are in a really good position to win this game in the next couple of days. there is still enough in the wicket with the new ball.
“when it comes to our turn to bowl again, we’ve just got to make sure we put the ball in the right areas and make it extremely hard for them to score.”
guptill added: “daryl (mitchell) batted extremely well especially on a wicket that is starting to stay a bit low and misbehave a little bit.
“the way he applied himself was excellent and the partnership we put on took the game away from lancashire.
“to score a hundred in both innings four times in your career is a pretty fantastic effort and he applied himself well in both innings on what is actually quite a difficult wicket.
“we were going head to head there for a while during that partnership. when someone is going well at the other end, it can rub off on you and give you the freedom to play as well.
“we wanted to be positive when we went out there because early on it was extremely tough. you’ve got to chance your arm sometimes in cricket and we did that and it certainly paid off.
“we are in a great position but the job is not over yet. we’ve still got some hard work to do tomorrow and when it comes to our turn to bowl, we have to make sure we put the ball in the right areas.
“the way the boys bowled this morning, they went nowhere and we managed to pick up some quick wickets and it really set the tone for the day and the big partnership was a defining moment.
“last night we didn’t quite get it right early on with the ball but the way we came back was great and ed barnard’s spell before the close of play really turned the game on its head.
“to finish with a five-for is a fantastic effort and the boys supported him well at the other end.
“is there enough in the wicket? i certainly think there is. you saw ed barnard’s dismissal, and the ball almost rolled (along the floor).”
