Bowlers stick to their task
Wed 23 Sep 2015
Wayne Madsen marked his 100th LV=County Championship appearance by passing 8,000 first-class career runs but Leicestershire hit back strongly on day two of the game at the 3aaa County Ground.
The captain shared 83 for the third wicket with Ben Slater and then added 70 with Wes Durston as Derbyshire progressed to 238-3 in the 69th over.
Leicestershire’s young quartet of seamers kept plugging away and Ben Raine and Ollie Freckingham took a brace of wickets apiece from that point to leave Derbyshire at 281-7 at stumps, still trailing by 48.
Freckingham ended with figures of 3 for 64 on a day where Zak Chappell claimed a maiden first-class victim to go with the 96 he made yesterday.
County started the second day well as Rob Taylor (21-4-64-1) trapped Billy Godleman lbw for 31 with the last ball of the fourth over of the morning.
Although Chesney Hughes was dropped by wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien on six, it did not prove costly as the Anguillan was yorked by Ollie Freckingham’s first delivery for 14 when the total was 83.
That was Leicestershire’s last success of the session as opener Slater, who scored two hundreds in the corresponding fixture last year, enjoyed a return to form in recording his first 50 since May.
Slater, who pulled Ben Raine for six, and Madsen steered Derbyshire to 128-2 at lunch, which represented a deficit of 201. The left-hander moved to 70 in the afternoon session before driving Chappell (14-0-59-1) to Aadil Ali at cover as the teenager continued his impressive debut.
Madsen took three fours off an over from counterpart Mark Cosgrove on his way to a 98-ball 50 and Derbyshire were making good progress until Raine (26-5-57-1) had Durston leg before for 29.
Derbyshire advanced to 241-4 at tea on day two, 88 behind on first innings, with Madsen moving on to 82.
The skipper looked set for three figures but fell five runs short as Freckingham got the new ball through his defences. Madsen now needs 33 to pass 1,000 first-class runs for the third season running.
Tom Poynton joined Tom Knight at the crease but play was suspended at 4.35pm as the floodlights took over on a gloomy afternoon.
Umpires Neil Mallender and Martin Bodenham, in his final game before retirement, took the players off the field but they monitored the situation and a resumption was possible shortly after 5.45pm.
Twelve overs were remaining and although only a further 22 balls were possible, it was a profitable period for County. Raine pinned Poynton (0) in front to become Leicestershire’s leading first-class wicket-taker this season and Freckingham castled Knight (25).
By the end another two Toms were at the wicket, Milnes and Taylor, and neither had got off the mark when the artificial light had taken too much of an effect again.
