Mike and Abbas claim three apiece
Tue 11 Sep 2018
SCORE | Day 2 of 4, Specsavers County Championship: Leicestershire CCC 100 v Warwickshire CCC 384-9
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo
REACTION | Colin Ackermann spoke to BBC Radio Leicester’s Richard Rae at stumps
HIGHLIGHTS | In-play highlights are available throughout the 2018 season
REPORT | Leicestershire CCC all-rounder Ben Mike and overseas star Muhammad Abbas were again in impressive form but table toppers Warwickshire CCC established a lead of 284 on a truncated second day.
Mike, who took consecutive career-bests on debut at Sussex CCC before posting his highest first-class score in this fixture, picked up three for 103.
Abbas claimed three for 67 to move to 40 Specsavers County Championship wickets for the season at 20.67 apiece as Warwickshire CCC closed at 384 for nine.
Sam Hain (72) and Chris Woakes both made half-centuries for the visitors, with the latter unbeaten on 64 at stumps as he looked to guide his team to maximum batting points.
There was a damp start to the day and no play was possible before lunch as the rain became more persistent.
Umpires Paul Baldwin and Graham Lloyd monitored the situation, and inspected conditions both at midday and 1pm when the precipitation relented, and play was able to get underway at 2pm.
Warwickshire CCC resumed at 190 for three to 290, and there were 59.5 overs due to be bowled. Abbas and Mike started with excellent discipline to make life tough for the batsmen.
A period of pressure was rewarded as Mike extracted an inside edge from Jonathan Trott (42) as the former England batsman looked to pull a delivery that moved away off the seam.
Mike then had an appeal for lbw against Tim Ambrose as he looked for a second wicket in the over, before the wicket-keeper shared an alliance worth 55 with Hain.
The tall batsman looked in good touch as he drove through the off-side on two occasions in the 67th over, while Ambrose generally guided the ball around by using the pace.
Leicestershire CCC changed the bowlers around in a bid to make a further breakthrough, and Neil Dexter and Colin Ackermann joined forces to positive effect. The off-spinner had Ambrose (28) caught at the wicket by Eckersley, leaving the visitors at 269 for five shortly before tea.
Dexter and Ackermann continued to bowl well after the interval, and the visitors had to work hard for their runs.
Hain steered the first ball of the 92nd over away to move to a patient half-century from 112 balls (6x4), a shot that also recorded the 300 for Warwickshire CCC. The new ball was taken later in the over by Abbas.
England all-rounder Woakes cracked a quartet of boundaries in the space of nine deliveries, the second of which recorded the 50 partnership.
With time running out in the pursuit of bonus points, Mike helped the Foxes bank a second by trapping Hain lbw to end the 75-run alliance, before Woakes picked up a three to ensure that Warwickshire CCC recorded a fourth batting point.
Both teams were now looking for maximum reward, and Woakes moved to 50 from 69 balls (7x4) before there was a flurry of wickets to ensure the Foxes had a full return of bowling points.
Keith Barker (9) cracked Ackermann to deep mid-wicket, where David Sayer took a perfectly judged catch that was made harder by the setting sun. Chris Wright (0) chipped Abbas to Sayer, who claimed a much more straightforward effort at mid-wicket, before the Pakistan international bowled Olly Stone (0) with a quick ball that came back off the seam.
In what had been an entertaining period of play, Warwickshire CCC still needed 16 runs from 12 deliveries in order to secure a fifth batting point when the light closed in just before 6pm.
TEAM | Dearden, Horton (capt), Ackermann, Cosgrove, Dexter, Javid, Eckersley (wk), Mike, Arshad, D Sayer, Abbas.
FIGURES | Abbas 25-7-63-3, D Sayer 5-1-28-0, Arshad 16-2-81-0, Mike 25-6-103-3, Dexter 26-7-72-1, Ackermann 11-2-31-2.
PHOTO | Thanks to John Mallett for the photo of Ben Mike bowling.
* Don't miss the third day of our Specsavers County Championship home game against leaders Warwickshire CCC! Tickets cost £12 for adults and £2 for under 16s and are available HERE
