Klein's career-best in vain at Glamorgan
Wed 26 Sep 2018
RESULT | Day 3 of 4, Specsavers County Championship: Glamorgan CCC 359 & 175 beat Leicestershire CCC 132 & 270 by 132 runs
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo
REACTION | Head Coach Paul Nixon reflected on the game and season to BBC Radio Leicester’s Richard Rae
HIGHLIGHTS | In-play highlights are available throughout the 2018 season
POINTS | Glamorgan CCC 23 points, Leicestershire CCC 3 points
REPORT | Dieter Klein posted his highest score in first-class cricket but it was not enough to prevent Glamorgan CCC from registering a deserved 132-run victory at Sophia Gardens.
Debutant Tom Taylor took four for 15 from 12 terrific overs and Ben Mike weighed in with three wickets as the Foxes dismissed their hosts for 175 second time around, leaving a target of 403 in just over five sessions.
Leicestershire CCC suffered déjà vu in their second innings, losing a wicket either side of the lunch interval to badly hamper momentum, and slipped to 102 for eight before rallying to 270.
Klein (94, 100b, 15x4, 1x6) came within one blow of recording his maiden first-class hundred, adding 72 for the ninth wicket with Callum Parkinson (31) and 96 for the tenth with Gavin Griffiths (38*).
Although it was a frustrating setback to end the season, credit should go to a young Foxes bowling unit who took 20 wickets in the absence of four regular seamers including Pakistan international Muhammad Abbas, and the lower order for a valiant effort with the willow.
Taylor gave the Foxes a great start on the third morning by bowling three home batsmen in consecutive dismissals.
He rattled one into the stumps of Lawlor (21) before nipping one back to Craig Meschede (4) that clipped the pad and then the bail placed between off and middle stumps. There was actually an appeal for leg before too before ‘keeper Lewis Hill noticed that the bail was no longer in position.
Top-scorer Chris Cooke (45) was also beaten by one that nipped back off the seam, and suddenly Glamorgan CCC had slumped to 117 for seven in their second innings.
Graham Wagg decided that the counter-attack was the best option, clubbing a brace of fours to mid-wicket and another couple through the covers and over mid-on.
Off-spinner Kieran Bull meanwhile, decided that defence was the best form of defence, offering solid support to the all-rounder.
But Wagg’s lively knock came to an end at 23; he top-edged an attempted pull back towards Mike in his follow through, although Klein came in from cover to take the high catch.
It paired Bull with Timm van der Gugten, and given the duo shared the highest stand of the first innings, Leicestershire CCC knew that there was work still to do.
Mike ended the stay of van der Gugten (6) by getting one to nip back and hit middle stump, before Michael Hogan took the lead beyond 400 by striking two consecutive sixes at the end of the 56th over.
His cameo came to an end at 16 when Mike (three for 73) induced an outside edge that ended in the gloves of Hill.
Leicestershire CCC had three overs to face before lunch and lost opener Ateeq Javid (3), hit in front of the stumps by Hogan’s very first delivery from the Cathedral Road End.
Colin Ackermann (0) was trapped by van der Gugten in the second over after lunch, and the situation worsened as Sam Evans (8) cut van der Gugten to gully before Mark Cosgrove (11) struck a Hogan delivery to Murphy at mid-wicket.
A partnership developed between Dearden and Hill (13) before the ‘keeper feathered Meschede to Cooke, leaving the Foxes at 42 for five.
Like in the first innings, Dearden (24) produced a defiant performance, but he too fell to the Meschede-Cooke combination when nicking a delivery that was pushed across him.
Taylor continued his impressive debut with several good strokes, including a flowing cover drive, and scored 26 before edging the returning Hogan low to Stephen Cook at first slip.
Mike (8) lofted the off-spin of Bull to deep mid-wicket, but Parkinson and Klein combined to positive effect. They played the sweep shot to Bull effectively and used the pace of the ball against the seamers.
Klein’s seventh four, carved through backward point, helped the alliance to move beyond 50. The duo took County into tea before Parkinson (31) was ultimately undone by a Hogan delivery that swung back sharply before flicking the pad and off stump.
No.10 Klein reached an excellent 50 from 64 balls, hitting ten boundaries along the way, and Griffiths also got stuck in during the club’s highest tenth wicket stand against Glamorgan CCC.
When Klein cut van der Gugten to the fence in the 62nd over, the batsman had his first-class best of 68, and Griffiths also continued to frustrate the home attack with some flowing strokes and firm defence.
Powerful pulls from Klein brought six and four respectively in the 66th, and suddenly the batsman was into the eighties.
Griffiths was also moving towards his first-class highest score of 40, but Klein was then trapped lbw by van der Gugten to the first ball of the penultimate over.
The result means that the Foxes will finish sixth in the table after recording five Specsavers County Championship victories, the most in a season since 2010.
TEAM | Javid, Evans, Ackermann (capt), Cosgrove, Dearden, Hill (wk), Mike, Parkinson, Taylor, Klein, Griffiths.
FIGURES | 1st inns: Griffiths 18-7-50-1, Taylor 22-4-77-2, Klein 18-5-60-1, Mike 16-2-80-1, Parkinson 19-4-51-2, Cosgrove 2-0-2-0, Ackermann 5-2-9-1.
2nd inns: Taylor 12-7-15-4, Mike 12.4-0-73-3, Griffiths 11-3-33-1, Klein 12-5-23-2, Parkinson 7-2-11-1, Ackermann 3-0-11-0.
PHOTO | Thanks to John Mallett for the photo of Dieter Klein batting.
* Thanks for your support throughout the 2018 season, we hope that you have enjoyed the matchday coverage and reports. If you have any suggestions as to how we can improve in 2019, please email foxes@leicestershireccc.co.uk.
