Records broken as batsmen continue to prosper

Derbyshire versus Leicestershire, Specsavers County Championship, Day 2:

SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo HERE

INTERVIEW | Ned Eckersley spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae at stumps, the interview is available HERE

HIGHLIGHTS | The highlights of the second day are available HERE

REPORT | Batsmen continued to prosper as several records were broken by Leicestershire on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship game at the 3aaa County Ground.

County posted their highest ever score against Derbyshire, 619 all out, before the hosts responded with 154-1 off 45 overs.

Mark Cosgrove (188, 220b, 26x4, 2x6) and Ned Eckersley (158, 172b, 24x4, 1x6) both registered career-best scores for the club and extended their alliance to 239, the highest fourth wicket partnership for Leicestershire versus Derbyshire.

The Foxes worked hard in the field and kept the ball in good areas without getting any breaks, Billy Godleman ending proceedings on 60 not out as Derbyshire closed 465 in arrears.

On another day filled with beautiful sunshine, the partnership between Cosgrove and Eckersley passed 150 before the individual batsmen each recorded various landmarks.

Cosgrove was first to a milestone, quickly moving from 137 to 150 from 176 balls with his 24th four, one of many dismissive pulls that travelled through mid-wicket like a rocket. The skipper then produced the same stroke with the same result to move to 160, beating his previous highest Leicestershire score of 156 on this very ground in 2015.

Eckersley, who resumed on 77, timed a quintet of fours off Jeevan Mendis through backward point, mid-wicket, extra, cover point and fine-leg respectively in racing to a 14th first-class hundred for Leicestershire from just 91 balls.

His chanceless ton included 18 fours and a maximum, and was Eckersley's third first-class century in five innings against Derbyshire - he scored two in the same match at the Fischer County Ground last term.

This was the first time that the Foxes had three centurions in the same Specsavers County Championship innings since 2014, a game against Gloucestershire at Bristol where Eckersley also reached three figures.

The duo moved their partnership past 200 and it became Leicestershire's highest for the fourth wicket against Derbyshire when reaching 208, beating Maurice Hallam and Willie Watson in 1959.

Captain Cosgrove then struck two successive sixes off Mendis over mid-on and mid-off respectively as the 500 was recorded before Eckersley collected back-to-back fours off Shiv Thakor, beautiful strokes through extra and backward point respectively.

Another fine straight hit off Mendis, this time a stroke that had umpire David Millns scrambling for cover, registered Cosgrove's 26th four. But the left-hander fell looking for another boundary off the bowling of the Sri Lanka international leggie, caught by Palladino at long-off.

He appeared set to become the first Leicestershire double-centurion since James Taylor against Middlesex in 2010, and although falling short of that milestone, Cosgrove posted the club's highest Specsavers County Championship score since that effort.

In an innings full of powerful striking, deft placement and control, it is fair to say that Cosgrove’s career-best score of 233, scored against Derbyshire while at Glamorgan, looked like being surpassed today.

Another partnership developed between Eckersley, who reached 5,000 Specsavers County Championship runs for Leicestershire when reaching 128, and Mark Pettini.

Leicestershire then registered their highest score against Derbyshire when passing the 552-6 made at Grace Road in 2005, and yet another landmark was reached in the first session as a sumptuous cover drive took Eckersley to a career-best 148.

The batsman added a further single as Leicestershire went to lunch at 563-4, Pettini 23 not out at that stage. Eckersley went on to post his maiden 150 from 158 balls, an innings that included 23 fours and a maximum.

There was a cluster of wickets as Leicestershire’s batsmen perished in the pursuit of quick runs. Eckersley and Rob Sayer (0) were both held by Alex Hughes at deep mid-wicket off Taylor while Mendis trapped Pettini (35) lbw on the sweep between those dismissals before having Lewis Hill (12) caught at the wicket.

Clint McKay hit a six to take the score beyond 600 but Mendis claimed his fifth wicket as the overseas player was caught by Palladino at long-on, and although Zak Chappell (9*) and Dieter Klein (7) added a couple of lusty blows, the latter was stumped as the spinner finished with 6-204 from 52.3 overs.

Although it was the most runs conceded by a Derbyshire bowler in a first-class innings, Mendis didn't deserve his name next to that record. The leg-spinner stuck to his task admirably on a flat pitch in hot and humid conditions, and ended with a good average and economy rate, 

Derbyshire had 13 overs to bat until tea and Godleman and Ben Slater got through without alarm, taking the score to 38 without loss.

Leicestershire were then without luck after the interval as a number of edges off Sayer and Chappell kept evading fielders.

Slater (42) punished anything overpitched on both sides of the wicket, striking seven boundaries and also profiting from an all-run four, before fending off a Chappell bouncer to Eckersley at short-leg with the score at 85.

Klein forced Thakor to play and miss several times in operating around the wicket while Sayer’s probing line, coupled with some drift, caused problems. But Godleman, who reached 3,000 first-class runs under his belt for Derbyshire, drove with authority when the opportunity arose.

The captain moved to 50 from 96 balls (8x4) on his 50^th first-class appearance for the county in seeing his side to stumps alongside Thakor (30*), who struck three fours in the 42^nd over, including two well-timed cuts. The right-hander also pleasantly drove Sayer for four off the last ball of the day, the second wicket stand being worth 69 by the end of play.

Bowling figures for Leicestershire: Klein 8-0-37-0, McKay 10-3-17-0, Sayer 15-3-40-0, Chappell 8-0-43-1, Ackermann 3-0-7-0, Cosgrove 1-0-5-0.