Foxes suffer setback after double-century stand
Tue 21 Aug 2018
RESULT | Day 3 of 4, Specsavers County Championship: Leicestershire CCC 220 & 227 lost to Kent CCC 195 & 253-2 by 8 wickets
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo
HIGHLIGHTS | In-play highlights are available throughout the 2018 season
REACTION | Paul Horton spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae at the end of the game
POINTS | Leicestershire CCC 4 points, Kent CCC 19 points
REPORT | A high-quality unbroken double-century partnership for the third wicket from Sean Dickson and Heino Kuhn proved decisive for Kent CCC in the important Specsavers County Championship encounter at the Fischer County Ground.
Opener Harry Dearden top-scored with 74, Dieter Klein posted a county career-best 41, and Gavin Griffiths made another useful contribution as Leicestershire CCC scored 227 in their second innings to set the visitors 253 to win.
Pakistan star Muhammad Abbas took two early wickets to take his match tally to eight, and with Kent at 38 for two, this tense, absorbing contest was right in the balance.
Dickson (134*) and Kuhn (96*) batted superbly to ensure their county took the spoils. To put their efforts into context, there had only been two fifties and a highest partnership of 69 in the game before they joined forces to share 215*.
Credit is also due to Kent CCC paceman Ivan Thomas after collecting career-best figures for the second time in the game - five for 90 - en route to ending with a match analysis of nine for 125.
With Leicestershire CCC resuming at 126 for five, Ben Raine (23) started with intent, carving over backward point and back past Harry Podmore at the start of the morning’s third over.
But the bowler struck back with his third delivery, pushing the ball across the left-hander to find the outside edge, and Sam Billings completed the dismissal to leave Leicestershire CCC at 135 for six.
Thomas completed his maiden first-class five-wicket haul as Callum Parkinson (8) fended a short ball to Kuhn at second slip, the Foxes 177 to the good at that stage.
Klein played a more than useful hand; he scored 23 off his first ten deliveries, including a fine cover drive off Thomas as one of five boundaries.
The valuable eighth wicket stand came to an end at 36 when Darren Stevens went around the wicket to Dearden, enticed an aerial cut stroke, and Dickson held a sharp catch in front of his face as the solitary slip fielder.
With every run a precious commodity, Klein and Griffiths played sensibly, adding 19 more runs before the former was lbw to Joe Denly.
That was the cue for Griffiths to play some more strokes. A superb on-drive from the bowling of Thomas opened his boundary account before a snick also ran to the fence as the lead edged towards 250.
Abbas (9) took it beyond that mark with a powerful blow off Denly but perished looking for another boundary off the leg-spinner, sweeping to Thomas at deep backward square-leg.
It left Griffiths on 16 not out, meaning that the No.10 took his runs tally against Kent CCC in 2018 to 45 undefeated runs from 110 deliveries. He now averages 36.33 in his last six Specsavers County Championship innings.
The visitors had an 11-minute period to bat before lunch, and they knocked 11 runs off the target in that time. They doubled that tally before losing the first wicket; Abbas had given Daniel Bell-Drummond (6) the sternest of examinations, and the opener ultimately nicked through to ‘keeper Eckersley.
Stewart (12) was promoted to bat at No.3 and generally put bat to ball - but on one occasion that he opted to play no stroke, the excellent Abbas brought a ball back just enough to thud into off stump, leaving the visitors at 38 for two.
Dickson and Kuhn were extremely positive in their approach, punishing any deliveries that offered a fraction of width and scampering hard between the wickets.
A total of 11 runs came off the 18th over, and that prompted a change of tack as Parkinson entered the attack for the first time in the game.
Kuhn scored at more than a run a ball for a period to take the pressure off. The stand reached 50 before Dickson got in on the act, producing three straight drives that yielded a brace of fours and a six in the 24th over.
The duo were now set, and Kuhn was first to 50 (50b, 8x4) with a trademark cut stroke before Dickson recorded his own milestone (80b, 6x4, 1x6).
Kent CCC had now knocked off more than half of their target, and the alliance reached 100 as Dickson punched between mid-wicket and mid-on to record his eighth four.
The visitors progressed to 153 for two at tea, and when Dickson got enough of an edge off Abbas to beat both the fielder at second slip and a despairing dive at third man shortly after the interval, it appeared that Leicestershire CCC’s luck was out.
Further landmarks arrived as the final session wore on. The 150-run partnership was followed by Dickson’s century (131b, 12x4, 2x6), and the alliance reached 200 shortly after Dickson struck two sixes and a four in the 50th over.
The result moved Kent CCC 19 points ahead of the Foxes, but with five matches to go, including fixtures against promotion rivals Warwickshire CCC and Sussex CCC, there is still all to play for.
TEAM | Dearden, Horton (capt), Ackermann, Cosgrove, Javid, Eckersley (wk), Raine, Chappell, Parkinson, Griffiths, Abbas.
Concussion replacement: Klein for Chappell.
FIGURES | 1st innings: Abbas 17.2-4-48-6, Raine 21-8-62-4, Griffiths 7-1-33-0, Klein 7-1-29-0.
2nd innings: Abbas 14-4-50-2, Raine 11-4-25-0, Griffiths 6-1-45-0, Klein 8-0-37-0, Parkinson 11-0-72-0, Cosgrove 1-0-6-0, Ackermann 2-0-8-0, Javid 1.2-0-5-0.
PHOTO | Thanks to John Mallett for the photo of Muhammad Abbas.
* Leicestershire CCC’s next Specsavers County Championship home game is against leaders Warwickshire CCC on Monday, September 10 (10.30am start). Tickets cost £12 for adults and £2 for under 16s and are available for all four days HERE
