Dearden & Pettini lead way

Leicestershire versus Glamorgan, Specsavers County Championship, Day 1:

SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE

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

HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the first day are available HERE

REPORT | Harry Dearden and Mark Pettini led a gutsy Leicestershire batting performance on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship game against Glamorgan.

The young left-hander mixed careful defence with flowing strokeplay in scoring a career-best 87 from 211 deliveries while the experienced Pettini made a patient unbeaten 63 as County posted 275-5 after being asked to bat first.

Paul Horton (41) and Lewis Hill (32*) also made important contributions as Leicestershire fought hard against a lively seam attack in conditions that required the floodlights in the afternoon and evening sessions.

Leicestershire showed four changes to the team that played at Gloucestershire with Mark Cosgrove suspended and Colin Ackermann, Gavin Griffiths and Richard Jones missing out through injury.

In came Cameron Delport for his Leicestershire first-class debut alongside Charlie Shreck, Zak Chappell and Lewis Hill, who was named as wicket-keeper with Ned Eckersley taking over the reins from Cosgrove and moving up the order.

The visitors elected to make one switch with off-spinner Andrew Salter replacing on-loan seamer Harry Podmore and they took to the field as Jacques Rudolph opted against a coin toss on an overcast morning.

Openers Horton and Dearden were tested in the early exchanges but their opening partnership of 85 made either side of lunch was exactly the sort of platform that Leicestershire required.

Horton tucked an early boundary off his toes and scored another four at the end of the first over as Leicestershire started with intent.

Carey could have made an early breakthrough as Dearden, on one, clipped an in-swinger towards Rudolph at short mid-wicket. Despite getting two hands to the ball, the skipper could not hold the chest-high chance.

The young batsman did not let it effect him and went on to score four boundaries in the first session, including two nicely timed off drives through cover and down the ground.

Horton struck his fifth four as Salter entered the attack shortly before lunch and went in unbeaten on 39 with Dearden on 36 as Leicestershire moved nicely to 81-0.

Progress was then checked by the impressive Lukas Carey (22-3-66-2), who struck twice in the space of two deliveries after the interval, and new ball partner Michael Hogan.

Horton pushed forward and was bowled as a ball brushed the pad on the way through while Neil Dexter (0) nudged a good swinging delivery to a diving Chris Cooke behind the wicket. Hogan followed that up by bowling Eckersley (1) with a full delivery, meaning Leicestershire had lost three wickets for one run.

Leicestershire needed to regroup quickly and Dearden and Pettini joined forces to provide a partnership of 90. Dearden struck a tremendous pull when Carey switched to the Pavilion End and then saw an attempted hook off the same bowler fly over the cordon.

That moment of fortune was deserved and took him to 48. Dearden then reached a maiden first-class 50 from 154 balls with his seventh four, expertly guiding a rising Marchant de Lange delivery down to the vacant third man boundary.

While Dearden continued to look good on the drive, with two beauties being sent through extra off David Lloyd, Pettini was quick to latch on to anything that was short or straying into the pads.

Dearden looked set for three figures as he punched Salter for four through mid-wicket but the spinner gained revenge by bowling the opener off his pads for 87 with the score at 176-4 just before tea.

The dismissal brought Delport to the wicket alongside Pettini, and the left-hander made an aggressive 20, including a six over long-on, as Leicestershire recorded their first batting point.

Salter had Delport dropped by Carey at mid-on in his comeback over but had his man before the 71st over was out, a quicker delivery beating the batsman’s defences.

Another stand developed between Pettini and Hill with the duo having to contend with different challenges, such as the accurate spin of Salter (10-0-26-2) and the threat of the new ball.

Pettini reached a vital 115-ball 50 (4x4) and then collected some bonus runs as a two was added to by four overthrows. The 50-run alliance and second batting point occurred off the same ball as Hill played a beautiful drive through extra cover. Pettini continued to punish anything loose; a well-executed cut from a wide Hogan delivery was sent to the fence.

The players then had to leave the field with seven overs to go, as although the floodlights were on it got noticeably darker and umpires Nick Cook and Graham Lloyd had no choice but to abandon play for the day.

TEAM | Horton, Dearden, Dexter, Eckersley (capt), Pettini, Delport, Hill (wk), Raine, Chappell, McKay, Shreck.