Batsmen enjoy better of day two

Leicestershire versus Glamorgan, Specsavers County Championship, Day 2:

SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE 

INTERVIEW | Clint McKay spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae at stumps, the interview is HERE

HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the second day are available HERE

REPORT | Batsmen generally prospered on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship game at the Fischer County Ground as 426 runs were collectively scored for the loss of nine wickets in 97.1 overs.

Leicestershire’s bowlers, however, worked hard in the absence of the injured Zak Chappell and picked up two wickets in the final stages as Glamorgan closed at 281-4 in reply to the home side’s first innings score of 420.

County’s last three wickets put on 139 runs as Ben Raine continued his fine early season form with 45 off 40 balls while Clint McKay added an unbeaten 41 and Charlie Shreck scored 26.

Nick Selman anchored the Glamorgan innings with 117 while experienced batsmen Jacques Rudolph and Colin Ingram posted half-centuries, the latter ending the day on 84 not out to leave the game delicately poised at the halfway stage.

An all-action opening session saw Leicestershire add 145 runs to their overnight 275-5 while losing the five remaining wickets in 26.1 overs. 

County suffered a double blow as overnight batsmen Lewis Hill and Mark Pettini departed in the opening half-hour. Hill (32) fell without addition to his overnight score as Lukas Carey, who impressed on day one, extracted bounce and induced an outside edge to Aneurin Donald at gully. Pettini (69) was dismissed in the same region, becoming the first victim of Marchant de Lange.

Although Raine and Chappell had a couple of moments of fortune as edges flashed away to the boundary, they also played some fine strokes in a partnership that took the score beyond 300. The left-hander drove stylishly through cover point and produced a pull that perfectly split two boundary riders.

Chappell played one defensive shot with such authority that it flew through mid-on before Rudolph had chance to cut it off to his left. However, Carey collected his fourth wicket of the innings as Chappell (12) became the third consecutive batsman to nick to Donald, fielding at third slip on this occasion.

Leicestershire were 310-8 at that stage but McKay played his hand in two important partnerships. The first yielded 49 in 41 balls with Raine, who was prepared to hit the ball hard and straight, and quick to put away anything banged in short.

There was a flurry of boundaries; four arrived in Carey’s 29th over, including three consecutive fours for the Victorian. The left-hander collected a brace of boundaries in the 103rd over and repeated the feat in the next offering as County recorded a fourth batting point. 

Carey’s expensive over had prompted a change from the Bennett End and the introduction of de Lange brought about Raine’s downfall. The tall seamer delivered an extremely sharp bouncer and Raine feathered through to Chris Cooke.
Shreck and McKay took the score up to 383-9 at the 110-over mark, meaning that the bonus points finished 4-3 in Leicestershire’s favour.

The pair continued to frustrate the visiting attack with an aggressive approach that saw the ball fly to all parts of the Fischer County Ground. They registered the 50 partnership off just 33 deliveries and shared 61 in total, the fun coming to an end when Shreck was bowled by leg-spinner Ingram.

Lunch was taken and there was nearly a wicket in the first over of the reply. McKay bowled a beauty that went across Rudolph but the appeal for caught behind was upheld as the ball looked to brush the batsman's leg as it went through.

Rudolph went on to time the ball nicely and struck twelve fours as he moved to 53 off just 50 deliveries, including a number of handsome drives through cover and down the ground.

Ned Eckersley’s move to introduce the off-spin of Dearden in the 13th over of the innings proved a masterstroke. The youngster deceived Rudolph (58) in his third over, the skipper's forward defence breached by one that spun to hit off stump with the score at 83. 

The skipper then reintroduced Raine in place of Dearden at the Bennett End and that move paid off too. Raine nipped one back sharply to trap David Lloyd (1) in front to leave Glamorgan at 97-2.

Opener Selman, who had played an intelligent supporting role to Rudolph, progressed to a half-century from 81 balls with his seventh four, and continued to punish anything loose as the session wore on.

Glamorgan went to tea at 165-2 with Selman on 74 and Ingram 28 and the batsmen extended their alliance into three figures in the evening session.

Selman moved to his century from 130 balls with his 16th four, a drive off Cameron Delport that found its way down to the vacant third man boundary. It was a fine innings in which Selman manoeuvred the ball well, being particularly adept at finding gaps when striking through the leg-side.

Number four Ingram moved to 50 in the next over from Raine (94b, 9x4) and then planted two straight sixes as Dearden bowled from the Pavilion End for the first time. An edge from Selman recorded the 150 partnership but it ended at 161 with Shreck pinning the opener in front.

Neil Dexter then enticed Aneurin Donald (5) to drag a delivery on to his stumps in the following over, meaning Cooke (8*) came to the wicket for a testing period. He helped Ingram get Glamorgan through to stumps with the visiting side reducing the arrears to 139.

Bowling figures for Leicestershire: McKay 15-2-59-0, Raine 16-3-50-1, Shreck 20-3-86-1, Dearden 7-0-33-1, Dexter 10-1-32-1, Delport 3-0-15-0.

* Thanks to Ed Melia for the photograph of Harry Dearden.