County Championship: Worcestershire set 442 to win by Durham

Durham opener Sean Dickson has scored 729 runs with four centuries this season

Sean Dickson took inspiration from team-mate Ben Stokes with a blistering century as Durham continued to dominate Worcestershire on the third day of their County Championship match at New Road.

Dickson, who scored 104 in the first innings, smashed 105 from 73 balls second time around as the visitors chased quick runs to set up a victory charge on the final day.

After bowling the home side out for 309, Matty Potts taking 6-62 and Joe Leach making 62 for Worcestershire, Durham declined to enforce the follow-on, instead sending out openers Dickson and Alex Lees with licence to attack.

Dickson responded with a 69-ball century, the second-fastest first-class hundred for Durham after Stokes' 64-ball ton in the first innings, before a declaration at 170-1 left Worcestershire a target of 442 in a day and 22 overs.

They were 85-2 at the close, Chris Rushworth having dismissed both openers.

After the spectacular fare of day two, when sixes rained from Stokes' bat, the third morning brought the opposite extreme.

Forty minutes passed without a run off the bat at one point as Worcestershire's lower order defended doggedly.

Stokes opened the bowling upon the resumption but remained wicketless as Leach added 54 in 15 overs with Ben Cox and 62 in 18 with Josh Baker.

After Cox edged Potts behind, Baker batted with impressive composure to put the previous day's mauling by the England captain behind him.

The 18-year-old made 27 from 64 balls before falling to smart slip catch by David Bedingham off Matt Salisbury.

Leach completed his 21st first-class half-century but fell to the second ball after lunch when he edged Rushworth to Scott Borthwick at second slip.

That made it 280-9, but last pair Adam Finch and debutant Ben Gibbon added a valuable 29 in 19 overs before the latter was bowled by Rushworth.

Durham chose to give their bowlers a rest and sent out Lees and Dickson in T20 mode. They rattled up 102 in 14 overs before tea and Dickson struck eight sixes on his way to his fourth century of the season and third in successive innings.

He is the fifth Durham player to achieve the feat of scoring two centuries in a championship match.

Worcestershire started briskly with 30 in four overs but then Rushworth struck twice in seven balls.

He bowled Ed Pollock through the gate and trapped Jake Libby lbw with one that kept low.

Azhar Ali and Jack Haynes prevented further damage with an unbroken stand of 50 before the close as Stokes delivered another five wicketless overs.