A BATTLING innings of 74 from veteran Paul Nixon was not enough to prevent Worcestershire taking command of their LV= County Championship Division Two game against Leicestershire at Grace Road.

The hosts were bowled out for 181 with Worcestershire’s young left-arm seamer Jack Shantry claiming career-best figures of 5-49.

Nixon batted for nearly four-and-a-half hours to help Leicestershire avoid following on but Worcestershire still gained a first-innings lead of 127. By the close, they had increased that to 189, reaching 62-2 in their second innings, before bad light ended play three overs early.

Apart from 39-year-old Nixon, none of the other Leicestershire batsmen ever looked set against Worcestershire’s battery of seam bowlers, splendidly led by 22-year-old Shantry.

He took four of his wickets in a 20-over spell either side of the lunch interval and then returned to wrap up the home side’s innings with the final wicket of Nathan Buck.

The early damage had been done by Richard Jones, who dismissed openers Will Jefferson and Matthew Boyce with only 38 on the board. When Shantry struck to have former County batsman James Taylor caught behind, the home side’s problems began.

Australian Andrew McDonald became another Shantry victim when a fine delivery saw him edge to second slip and the left-armer then trapped Jacques du Toit lbw for a duck.

Shantry was well supported by Jones, who finished with 3-49, while Alan Richardson took 2-45.

Although Worcestershire lost two quick wickets when Matthew Hoggard had Phil Jaques lbw for his second duck of the match and Vikram Solanki was caught at cover off Buck, they recovered to reach the close in a healthy position.