McKay excels for spirited County

An audio interview with Clint McKay with BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae is available here

Leicestershire were inspired by Clint McKay as they claimed the upper hand on a topsy-turvy third day of the LV=CC game against Kent at Canterbury.

The Australian seamer’s 6-54 – the best Championship figures by a Leicestershire bowler since Robbie Joseph bagged 6-47 in the opening game of the 2012 season against Glamorgan – helped County claim a first innings lead of 118.

New ball duo McKay and Charlie Shreck (22-6-67-2) claimed the final six wickets for just 11 runs in 32 balls as Kent were dismissed for 268 and Leicestershire extended their advantage to 307 by stumps.

Kent initially roared back to reduce the team to 86-7 but McKay added to his bowling heroics by top-scoring with 43 off 36 balls as part of a vital 62-run stand for the eighth wicket with Rob Taylor.

The Scotland all-rounder, who followed up his first innings 33 not out with an identical score today, then added an unbroken 41 with Jigar Naik (21 not out) as County closed on 186-8.

Earlier in an incident-packed day, Joe Denly and Sam Northeast posted a season’s best fourth wicket stand before Kent suffered a pre-lunch collapse to the second new ball. They lost five wickets for 47 including a flurry of four wickets for four runs in the space of 12 balls.

Northeast and Denly, resuming on the home side’s overnight  score of 155-3 after a 15 minute delay to mop-up overnight rain, marched on to post Kent’s first century stand of the summer with little or no alarm.

But, with his score on 87 and after a 273-minute vigil, Denly fell leg before to Ben Raine after working across the line on the back foot.

The pair had added 149 in 47.5 overs and, in the process, Northeast marched on to his third half-century in as many championship starts, this latest one coming off 97 balls and with seven fours.

He was joined by Kent’s five-wicket bowling hero of day two, Darren Stevens, who soon got into his stride but, just before lunch Northeast departed lbw, this time to Charlie Shreck, after scoring 84 with ten boundaries.  

Three runs later and without addition to the total Stevens (23) chased one from McKay to be held low down by debutant keeper Lewis Hill.

Matt Coles walked in and luckily got underway by edging one through the cordon for four but two balls later he snicked a back- foot defensive shot against the same bowler to be superbly caught two-handed and diving to his left by Neil Pinner at second slip.

Wickets continued to fall when Billings was lbw to Shreck without scoring as Kent lost their fourth wicket for as many runs.  

The hosts lasted only 17 more deliveries after lunch as McKay mopped up. The fast bowler had Adam Riley (1) snaffled low down in the gully and cleaned up Kent’s last man Ivan Thomas with his very next delivery.

Leicestershire went to tea on 81-5 having lost Matthew Boyce (4) and Ned Eckersley (4) to the new ball and then skipper Mark Cosgrove, opener Angus Robson and Pinner for the cost of only three runs just before the break .

Boyce, having just survived a concerted appeal, went to the very next delivery from Thomas, leg before. Four overs later Eckersley (4) shouldered arms to a Thomas delivery that plucked out off stump.

Cosgrove and Robson dug in with a 50 stand for the third wicket before the hosts struck again when Mitch Claydon snared Cosgrove (29) leg before with a full length in-ducker.

In the next over, and without addition to the total, Robson (30) lost his leg stump to Darren Stevens. The former Leicestershire man struck again in his next over by having Pinner (1) held at slip by Riley off an edged out-swinger.

County had lost five wickets for 15 runs shortly after the tea interval when Raine (7) and Hill (3) fell lbw to Thomas and Coles respectively before a spirited fightback.

McKay clattered seven fours and a six in his entertaining knock before Stevens made him his eighth victim of the game by plucking out off stump with a shooting leg-cutter.

Taylor continued to bat well and by stumps the all-rounder had batted for an hour and forty minutes in making it 66 undefeated runs in the match. Naik offered useful support to ensure Leicestershire’s lead was extended beyond 300 by the end of play.