WORCESTERSHIRE face a battle on the third day to avoid the follow-on in their Specsavers County Championship Division One match at title-chasing Nottinghamshire.

The Trent Bridge hosts declared their first innings on 499-9 and then made steady inroads to leave the bottom-of-the-table visitors on 215-7.

Joe Clarke top-scored with 40 and the rest of the top order all reached double figures before falling with Harry Gurney taking 3-60.

Earlier, Riki Wessels scored an undefeated 75 for Notts, joining first-day batting heroes Chris Nash, Jake Libby and Samit Patel in registering their highest score of the summer.

Steve Magoffin, who bagged his three wickets within the space of five deliveries late on the first day, ended with figures of 3-70 for the New Road side.

Wessels’ runs came from 127 balls faced and contained nine boundaries.

Tom Moores made a typically punchy 56 but fell when going in search of the runs needed for a fifth batting point.

Resuming from their overnight score of 336-5, Notts showed a marked acceleration in their run-rate with Moores hitting left-arm spinner Ben Twohig away for two huge sixes, the second of which took him to a 60-ball half-century.

Stuart Broad (23) and Luke Fletcher (13) both fell to Brett D’Oliveira (2-44) during the early part of the second session as the tempo increased further but their dismissals as well as that of Matt Milnes prompted the declaration.

Martin Guptill made a flying start to the Worcestershire reply but then cut Gurney to point for a run-a-ball 28.

Either side of the tea break Daryl Mitchell (18) was also removed by Gurney and Tom Fell (25) was athletically caught by keeper Moores off Fletcher’s bowling.

With the shadows lengthening and the floodlights starting to have an effect Notts then picked up the key wicket of Clarke pinned lbw by Fletcher for 40.

Two more Worcestershire batsmen scraped into the 20s but fell in quick succession.

Ben Cox (25) appeared to play down the wrong line and had his off peg snapped by Gurney and a fired-up Broad had captain D’Oliveira (24) smartly pouched by Chris Nash at slip.

Broad then put the finishing touches to a fine day for the hosts by removing Twohig (2) to leave the Worcestershire first innings in some disarray and still 135 runs away from saving the follow-on.

D’Oliveira said: “Obviously these have been two tough days for us.

“Notts played very well to get up to the score that they did and then in reply we probably haven’t batted to our full capabilities but credit to their bowlers at the end.

"In the twilight and the dark it was quite tough to face.”