County take lead of 87 into final day
Sat 27 May 2017
Derbyshire versus Leicestershire, Specsavers County Championship, Day 3:
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE
INTERVIEW | Clint McKay spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae at stumps, the interview is available HERE
HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the third day are available HERE
REPORT | Leicestershire will take a lead of 87 into the final day of the Specsavers County Championship game against Derbyshire but the team still need to take two first innings wickets at the 3aaa County Ground.
Centurions Billy Godleman (141) and Shiv Thakor (132) broke a second wicket record for Derbyshire against Leicestershire while Gary Wilson made 97 as the hosts scored 532-8 in reply to 619.
Zak Chappell claimed a career-best 3-107 for Leicestershire and fellow seamer Clint McKay took 2-78 off 32 overs, which was a fine effort on a good batting surface.
Both teams have now posted their highest first-class scores against one another in the match, Derbyshire’s effort today beating the 509 they scored at Glossop in 1906.
Dieter Klein and McKay opened the bowling in decent sunshine, a contrast to conditions at 9.30am which had seen the Derbyshire groundstaff expertly anticipate a heavy shower.
Godleman steered the first boundary of the day through backward point while Thakor pushed down to vacant third man before two consecutive cover driven fours took the all-rounder to 50 from 81 balls (10x4).
Another Godleman four guided in the backward point region took the stand to 100, and 14 runs came in the 56th over from Chappell, including a boundary for Thakor and two for Godleman as Derbyshire moved past 200.
The skipper moved to a 170-ball century by pulling, cutting and driving to the ropes, taking his boundary tally to 17. Harry Dearden was then introduced to bowl alongside Rob Sayer, and he nearly struck in his first over, the ball somehow missing both the edge and stumps as Thakor attempted to strike over mid-wicket.
Thakor, generally drove the off-spinners with élan, including strokes through extra, mid-on and straight mid-wicket, but had a second moment of fortune when attempting another shot through mid-wicket. Sayer thought he had his man for 86 but a diving Chappell couldn't hold on despite getting two hands to the ball.
Colin Ackermann became the third off-spinner to be utilised in the opening session. There was a ring of fielders but the batsmen still managed to find gaps off the slow men, especially in the extra cover region.
McKay came on at the Racecourse End but Thakor cut the final ball of his comeback over down to third man, the 16th four of his knock, to move to 100 from 160 deliveries. Another boundary from Thakor, clipped between two fielders positioned close together at mid-wicket, took the stand to 200 before the score moved to 287-1 at lunch.
The wind had now considerably strengthened and it appeared that a storm may not be too far away. However, although the floodlights had to go on for the last few overs, the rain stayed away after the morning burst.
Thakor sent the first three balls of the 79th over from Sayer to the ropes as the 300 came up but the alliance ended at 236 as the batsman edged McKay through to Lewis Hill. McKay then took the new ball and struck for a second time, Wayne Madsen (2) chipping to Ned Eckersley at cover, Leicestershire taking their match bonus point total to six.
It was due reward for McKay, who persevered on a flat pitch and maintained an overall economy rate of under two-and-a-half an over.
Alex Hughes (4) survived a leg before appeal from McKay before Klein took his wicket, nicely held by Dearden at second slip. Derbyshire had suddenly lost three wickets for the addition of 13 runs and were now at 334-4.
County may have sensed an opportunity with Derbyshire still 136 away from avoiding the follow-on but Wilson played a key innings for his side.
The Ireland international took 14 runs taken off the 89th over, including a couple of edges down to vacant third man, and scored 38 of a 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Godleman was yorked by Chappell in the 102nd over.
Wilson struck a straight six as Derbyshire registered maximum batting points, and after Smit survived lbw appeals from Sayer and McKay respectively, the Ireland international posted 50 from 61 balls (6x4, 1x6) shortly before tea.
Derbyshire still required 54 to avoid the follow-on at that point but Smit got the scoreboard moving by playing two fours down to third man in the first over of the final session.
The stand reached 81 before Smith fell for 40. In trying to steer Klein down to third man, he succeeded only in picking out the solitary slip fielder, Dearden, who was positioned fairly wide of Hill. Jeevan Mendis then went without scoring, Ackermann claiming his first Leicestershire wicket as McKay held a steeper at point.
Wilson, whose career-best 160* came for Surrey against Leicestershire in 2014, twice struck Klein for four through the covers in the 128th over before an excellent straight drive off Ackermann took him into the 90s and the score to 500.
He fell agonisingly short of a century, dragging Chappell on to his stumps in attempting to pull, before Tom Taylor (16*) and Rob Hemmings (19*) saw the hosts through to the close.
Bowling figures for Leicestershire: Klein 25-2-108-2, McKay 32-11-78-2, Sayer 38-5-142-0, Chappell 23-4-107-3, Ackermann 18-6-48-1, Cosgrove 1-0-5-0, Dearden 4-0-19-0.
