County Championship: Ben Coad takes 5-33 but Worcestershire rally against Yorkshire

Ben Coad has taken 21 wickets at an average of 16.47 this season

Yorkshire paceman Ben Coad took 5-33 as the Tykes made Worcestershire follow on at New Road.

But the visitors were held up by an inspiring show of defiance from Worcestershire number 10 Adam Finch and number 11 Ben Gibbon.

The pair batted for two hours to put on 63 for the last wicket in 35 overs before the Pears were finally bowled out in their first innings for 242.

Gibbon made 41 not out, improving his career-best score for the second time this season, while Finch followed up his five-wicket haul on Tuesday with an almost equally valuable 24.

Then, when the hosts were invited to follow on 165 runs behind, with nine overs to face before the close in their second innings, Gibbon and Finch were sent back in again and they again coped admirably, closing on 22-0, to reduce the overnight deficit to 143.

Coad returned his season's best figures with the ball - the 11th five-wicket haul of his career - and he was well supported by Mark Steketee and Matthew Fisher.

But Finch showed his other side after hitting three sixes in the final over to earn Worcestershire an unlikely T20 Blast game against the Tykes at New Road in May.

And together with Gibbon, in what proved the Pears' highest partnership of the innings, they showed up the Worcestershire top order by eating up more crucial time in an already rain-affected match that has already cost almost 100 overs.

After resuming on 46-2, Jack Haynes had looked in good nick as he collected a trio of boundaries off Coad, who had his revenge with the final ball of the sixth over of the day when he got him lbw for 29.

Azhar Ali fell victim to Coad after a switch of ends, getting squared up by a delivery which earned George Hill a catch at first slip.

Steketee then accounted for Ed Pollock who nicked to second slip for a 15-ball duck, and former Yorkshire all-rounder Matthew Waite appeared to edge a delivery onto his pad before the ball ballooned to third slip.

Adam Hose, who needed 26 balls to get off the mark, was unbeaten on 37 when rain brought about an early lunch but he only added a single after the resumption when Fisher removed his off stump.

Joe Leach, who added 31 with Josh Baker for the eighth wicket, hit 33 off 44 balls but went to Coad to leave the hosts 179-9. Gibbon came in to join Finch - and the Tykes attack was then tamed for the rest of the day, to the tune of one scalp in 44 overs, to give the Pears a real chance of saving the game.