Patel Century Helps Leicestershire Secure Maximum Batting Bonus Points

By Richard Rae | ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay

A FINE century from Rishi Patel, along with 90s from Shan Masood and Ben Cox, saw Leicestershire secure maximum batting bonus points to leave them on the verge of securing the Division Two title as they dominated Kent after being put into bat at Uptonsteel County Ground.

Beginning the match 25 points clear of second placed Glamorgan, the Foxes could not have hoped for a better second day of this Rothesay County Championship match after the first was entirely lost to the weather.

It made for a chastening first-class debut for 19-year-old all-rounder Corey Flintoff - one of five teenagers in the Kent side “ who, with father Andrew watching, bowled 15 wicket-less overs for 91 runs, though he did take a catch. Kent openers Harry Finch and Ben Dawkins survived a difficult nine overs before the light closed in.

After the loss of the entire first day to the strong winds that made handling the covers too dangerous to undertake, it was a relief to see the ground ready for play from the start.

Sol Budinger casually swung an in-swinger over the midwicket boundary for six in the early exchanges, but the Kent all-rounder had his revenge soon afterwards however, when Budinger edged to second slip where Flintoff held on.

Patel, however, looked in good touch from the start. The 27-year-old has recently shown signs of finding the form which saw him called into an England Lions training camp, and he took full toll on the regular loose deliveries from the visiting attack.

There were plenty of testing balls too, and George Garrett produced a beauty to square up and bowl Ian Holland, but a score of 151-2 off 30 overs at lunch told its own story. Having hit ten boundaries in going to his half century, Patel hit another ten in going to three figures, his second championship century of the season, shortly after lunch.

Kent were already looking down the barrel, but Patel played too soon at an Ekansh Singh delivery and got a leading edge that looped to mid-on, a maiden first-class wicket for the 19-year-old, and Hill, having registered his seventh half-century of the season, slashed a wide short ball from Michael Cohen straight to point.

When Steve Eskinazi went leg before to Evison, Leicestershire were in danger of wasting their flying start, but the elegant Masood was calmness personified, and he found lively support from Cox.

Together they added 161 for the sixth wicket and both seemed certain to reach three figures, but Garrett, bowling with the new ball, pushed one across Masood to find an edge which carried to slip before Grant Stewart took a fine leaping catch at mid-on to dismiss Cox off the bowling of Evison.

Leicestershire declared on 459/7, having secured all five batting bonus points inside 84 overs.