Mike top-scores but Bears complete victory

RESULT | Day 3 of 4, Specsavers County Championship: Leicestershire CCC 100 & 196 lost to Warwickshire CCC 400-9 dec by an innings and 104 runs

SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo

REACTION | Paul Horton spoke to BBC Radio Leicester’s Richard Rae at stumps

HIGHLIGHTS | In-play highlights are available throughout the 2018 season

POINTS | Leicestershire CCC 3 points, Warwickshire CCC 24 points

REPORT | Division Two leaders Warwickshire CCC took another step towards promotion as they recorded a ruthless victory against Leicestershire CCC at the Fischer County Ground.

After declaring their first innings at 400 for nine, the visitors challenged the Foxes with both seam and spin, as captain Jeetan Patel settled in at the Pavilion End while the seamers rotated.

Keith Barker collected five for 40 while Patel snared four for 67 as Leicestershire CCC scored 196 all out in their second innings.

The impressive Ben Mike top-scored for the second time of the game with 39, and Harry Dearden, Ateeq Javid, Ned Eckersley and David Sayer also posted scores in the 20s.

Warwickshire CCC resumed at 384 for nine with 12 balls of the 110-over allocation remaining to try to get the 16 runs required for the final batting bonus point.

The visitors got to their target with two deliveries to spare as Patel (9*) drove down the ground for four and Woakes (73*) struck a couple of boundaries.

Leicestershire CCC’s openers made a decent start before Barker, operating around the wicket, brought one back to bowl captain Paul Horton (9).

Dearden and Colin Ackermann (16) worked hard against the new ball, with the No.3 guiding a pair of boundaries off the seam of Chris Woakes.

But left armer Barker struck for the second time in his spell in similar fashion to the first. The ball came back down the hill from the Bennett End, but this time took the batsman’s off stump.

Barker then made it three by coming back over the wicket to trap Mark Cosgrove (0) leg before wicket, and Leicestershire CCC needed a partnership at 41 for three.

Opener Dearden was battling hard, and his reward was a boundary as he steered Barker away in his tenth over of the spell.

Patel mixed things up, including have a bowl from both ends before lunch, while paceman Olly Stone also had a burst.

The move worked as the skipper struck with what proved to be the final ball before lunch, trapping Dearden lbw to move to 50 Specsavers County Championship wickets for the season.

Leicestershire CCC went in at 69 for four from 27.2 overs with Dexter on 7, and the batsman was determined not to let Patel settle after lunch.

He swept a four but then perished playing a similar stroke for 15, caught by Chris Wright at deep backward square-leg.

Javid (23) and Eckersley knuckled down in the face of some controlled bowling and shared 45 for the sixth wicket in the process.

The former Bears batsman found the fence on three occasions before becoming the victim to sharp turn from Patel, who dismissed him leg before wicket.

Eckersley continued to accumulate while Mike had a nerveless approach, playing some attacking strokes off Patel that yielded four through mid-wicket and a brace of sixes over mid-on.

But Barker returned to bowl Eckersley (23) between the boundary and first maximum, and Usman Arshad (0) then became a third lbw victim to Patel.

Mike continued to play fearlessly, including a full-blooded pull off the previously economical Barker, while Sayer also took the attack to Patel in launching fours through the covers and over mid-off.

An all-action delivery saw Mike pick up an all-run five courtesy of two different sets of overthrows, but Barker then completed his five-for. The seamer bowled Sayer (21) after the left-hander had played some good strokes as part of a ninth wicket stand of 37.

The final wicket was taken by Stone, who enticed Mike into pulling to Patel at long-leg, as Warwickshire CCC recorded maximum points to Leicestershire CCC’s three.

TEAM | Dearden, Horton (capt), Ackermann, Cosgrove, Dexter, Javid, Eckersley (wk), Mike, Arshad, D Sayer, Abbas.

FIGURES | Abbas 26-7-70-3, D Sayer 5-1-28-0, Arshad 16-2-81-0, Mike 25.4-6-112-3, Dexter 26-7-72-1, Ackermann 11-2-31-2.

PHOTO | Thanks to John Mallett for the photo of Ben Mike batting.

* Leicestershire CCC’s final Specsavers County Championship home game is against Durham CCC on Tuesday, September 18 (10.30am start). Tickets cost £12 for adults and £2 for under 16s and are available for all four days HERE