STEVE Rhodes is keeping the faith that Worcestershire can assure promotion to the Frizzell County Championship's top tier despite successive defeats.

Following Tom Moody's defection from New Road to Sri Lanka, Rhodes has yet to sample winning in the four-day game since his rise to head coach.

But Worcestershire have been far from outclassed in losses to Leicestershire and Yorkshire.

In fact, the County affirmed the ascendancy in both matches before carelessly allowing the results to slip from their grasp.

In a calamitous final session at Grace Road, Worcestershire were incapable of reaching a winning target of 141 when shot out for just 128.

A sub-standard second innings score also proved their downfall last weekend as the Tykes won an entertaining see-saw battle at New Road.

Those back-to-back failures pushed the County out of the top-two promotion places, with Durham and Lancashire leading the way, while Yorkshire and Essex are in the frame.

Worcestershire will target next Wednesday's fixture at Northamptonshire, who are without a win in eight, as the perfect platform to regain their momentum, although Rhodes is far from distraught with his side's current form.

"We are still in the top three," points out Rhodes. "If you look at the manner of the two defeats, we actually dominated both games. Maybe those games have slipped from our grasp.

"But we've done a lot of building to get ourselves into good positions and that's promising. We've just got to nail it home on the last day.

"With Lancashire beating Durham and Yorkshire beating us, it's showing four or five teams up there with a chance, which is exactly what everybody wants.

"But I do think a lot of those teams are better than some of the first division teams.

"It's a tougher second division this year than it has ever been."

Meanwhile, teenager Steve Davies is bracing himself for a busy second-half of the season following his inclusion in England Under 19's forthcoming three one-day internationals and three four-day 'Test' matches against Sri Lanka.

The 19-year-old is available for selection at Northampton next week, but the youth international programme is expected to rule him out for Worcestershire until mid-August.

Davies continued his good form with the bat by striking 57 in Worcestershire Second XI's 307-6 declared at Panteg, Glamorgan, while Daryl Mitchell scored an unbeaten 150.

At the end of the second day, Glamorgan were 199-2 after declaring their first innings on 345-7.