Dexter digs in for County

Leicestershire versus Gloucestershire, Specsavers County Championship, Day 1:

SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE

INTERVIEW | Centurion Neil Dexter spoke to BBC Radio Leicester’s Richard Rae at the end of play, the interview is available HERE

HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the first day are available HERE

REPORT | By Sam Chambers

A resolute batting performance from Neil Dexter helped Leicestershire to frustrate Gloucestershire on day 1 of the Specsavers County Championship clash at the Fischer County Ground.

Coming to the crease with the Foxes 8-1 after five balls, and soon to be 18-2, the right-hander anchored the County innings with a brilliant unbeaten 107 from 265 balls to leave them 252-7 at stumps with the match evenly poised.

The two counties began the day level-pegging in third place on 93 points, both looking to assert their authority on the Championship race.

Leicestershire made one change from the side that performed so well in the victory at Essex last week, bringing in recent loan signing Richard Jones in place of the rested Ben Raine.

Visiting skipper Gareth Roderick took the decision to place the hosts into bat, unsurprisingly assessing the clouds lingering ominously high above the FCG and concluding the overcast conditions to be ripe for bowling.

In keeping with the theme of the summer thus far, spells of heavy rainfall over the weekend precipitated a 15-minute delay to proceedings and, when the sides eventually surfaced out in the middle, it wasn't long before David Payne got an early breakthrough for the visitors.

Angus Robson, after his heroics last week at Chelmsford, chose to let go a delivery that swung back sharply into his off-stump to remove him for 2. That brought Dexter to the crease and he went on to bat for six hours and eleven minutes.

The impressive Payne, making the most of the favourable bowling  conditions, got further reward for a bright start, trapping Paul Horton - who, before the start of play needed just 88 runs to pass 10,000 runs - lbw for five off the final ball of the fifth over, leaving Leicestershire with some serious work to do at 18-2.

With Payne, and Liam Norwell - who returned match figures of 8-140 in Gloucestershire's last County Championship outing against Worcestershire - at the opposite end, consistently causing the Foxes problems, Leicestershire would look to the leadership of skipper Mark Cosgrove and the experience of Dexter to shore things up as the clouds began to lift and the sun broke through.

Craig Miles came into the attack in the 12th over, replacing Norwell, and Cosgrove, finding his stride, took 12 from the 21-year-old's first over. He steered two deliveries to the third man boundary and drove one straight down the ground for four more to signal his intent.

He would then bring up the 50 for the Foxes with a beautiful shot through long-off in the 16th over from the bowling of Norwell, brought back in place of Payne at the Bennett End, before caressing the ball through mid-off to the boundary two overs later. Dexter then stroked one down to the third man boundary as the partnership began to take shape, passing 50 soon after.

A strong spell of bowling would then follow with the ever-dangerous Norwell in particular looking to peg back the home resurgence and return supremacy to the West Country side in what was shaping up to be an absorbing contest. When the players retired to the dining room with Leicestershire 84-2 (Dexter 34* and Cosgrove 35*), parity had just about been restored, setting up an intriguing afternoon session.

The sun was shining brightly by the time the players returned to action and, in the first over back, Cosgrove sent three Payne deliveries crashing through the ropes on the off-side to take him to within three runs of his half-century. That landmark would come in the 32nd over, turning Payne to backward square leg after a fielding mishap had taken it over the ropes, his 50 coming from 81 balls and County moving by 100 in the process.

Dexter, meanwhile, was looking calm and composed at the other end, though had to scramble to make his ground to survive a run-out attempt in the 34th over, and was slightly fortuitous with a thick inside edge off Miles that ran away for four.

The much-needed alliance between Dexter and Cosgrove would pass 100 in 32.3 overs after a mistake in the Gloucestershire field, and Dexter was able to reach his 50 from 114 balls shortly after.

Cosgrove, however, who had played so well for his crucially important innings (53, 99b) after coming to the crease at 18-2, departed not long after, driving medium pacer Kieran Noema-Barnett straight into the hands of Payne at mid-on to reduce Leicestershire to 119-3.

Progress was further hindered when Mark Pettini (5) feathered Norwell, who found some bounce, into the gloves of Roderick to swing the pendulum back in favour of Gloucestershire with the score now at 130-4.

Dexter's patience was proving to be pivotal to the Foxes' cause, the batsman more than happy to take each ball as it came to keep the home side's total ticking over. Paired with Aadil Ali, who, on six, edged the persistent Norwell past the slips for four, he helped to move the total to 155-4 from 53 overs before Ali launched left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren over long-on for the match's first maximum.

Ali looked in good nick, guiding Payne through slips for four, and with tea in sight Dexter was now involved in his second effective partnership of the day. When the players did leave the field for tea, the scoreboard had been pushed on to 179-4, one run short of the 50 partnership, Dexter on 75 from 175 and Ali on 25 from 62.

That run came from the fourth ball of Norwell's first over after the resumption, though it wasn't without risk, Benny Howell fielding superbly to take Dexter's cut and aim a direct hit at the stumps of the non-striker's end. Dexter would breathe a sigh of relief once inside his crease.

Ali would eventually depart for a season-best Championship score of 30, having his stumps disturbed by Miles in the 69th over after playing himself in. The adhesive Dexter remained, though, with County at 188-5.

He moved to within 10 of his ton by flicking Noema-Barnett away to the off-side, but some careful and consistent bowling by Gloucestershire, including the aforementioned bowler's snaring of Ned Eckersley, gone leg before offering no stroke for 5, was helping to limit the Foxes' scoring rate in the final session.

After being patient on 99, Dexter completed a fine century with a single, the milestone coming from 237 balls and included 12 fours.

With just three overs of the day remaining, Noema-Barnett claimed his third scalp of the afternoon, bowling full into the pads of Rob Taylor (21) to claim a second lbw. Dexter (107*), alongside Clint McKay (8*), steered Leicestershire to the close of play without the loss of further wickets, and the Foxes were indebted hugely to the endurance and application of their number three.

* Thanks to Ed Melia for the photograph of Neil