Robson makes half-century on bowling day
Mon 8 Jun 2015
Angus Robson continued his recent fine form but the bowlers were generally on top on the second day of the LV=CC game at Grace Road.
The openers shone before wickets tumbled in Surrey’s first innings, and Leicestershire’s first knock took the same shape.
Robson (68) and Matthew Boyce (27) put on 100 for the first wicket before young seamers James Burke and Tom Curran each claimed four-wicket hauls to wrestle back the initiative as Leicestershire were dismissed for 190.
Wickets were then shared around County’s seam quartet as Surrey progressed to 217-6 in their second innings, thus extending their overall advantage to 288.
Leicestershire resumed on 35-0 and the team got off to a flying start as nine runs came off the first over from Boyce, including a clipped four down to fine leg off the first ball of the morning. Robson then cut to the fence and the 50 stand was registered before Boyce swivelled to find the boundary again.
Robson struck another quartet of fours, including three down to the third man boundary, as he registered a 58-ball 50. It was Robson’s fourth successive fine knock following scores of 120 and 71 at Essex in the last LV=CC game and a half-century against New Zealand on Saturday.
The batsman then sent a couple of rasping drives to the cover boundary, the second of which took the opening stand into three figures.
Leicestershire were going great guns but a bowling change at the Pavilion End completely changed the complexion of the game. Burke (6-1-19-4) struck with his first ball in the competition as Boyce gloved a short ball down the leg-side to ‘keeper Gary Wilson.
Although Robson cut the 12th four of his innings off Burke, he was then bowled by the skiddy seamer’s next delivery at the end of the 27th over. Leicestershire then lost a third wicket inside four overs as captain Mark Cosgrove (4) was trapped leg before by Dunn
Eckersley, who previously got off the mark with a beautiful stroke through mid-wicket, struck another fine drive to the cover boundary as lunch approached but a fourth wicket went down on the stroke of the interval.
Andrea Agathangelou (7) nicked the returning Chris Tremlett towards Steve Davies at third slip and although the ball bounced from his grasp, it went to his left at a perfect height for Rory Burns. County went in on 155-4 with Eckersley on 22 and Niall O’Brien still to get off the mark.
The lively Curran (17.5-3-39-4) had bowled well without luck in the first session but gained his reward after the interval. O’Brien (7) edged to Dominic Sibley at third slip while Ben Raine (5) and Rob Taylor (0) nicked consecutive deliveries to Wilson.
The all-rounder also trapped Charlie Shreck (0) leg before with Burke claiming two wickets in an over inbetween. The former Somerset all-rounder got one through the defences of Eckersley, who had battled extremely hard in getting to 34, and then pinned Jigar Naik (2) lbw.
It was pushing on for 3pm when Surrey started their second innings with a lead of 71 but there were still 54 overs remaining in the day. Surrey adopted a positive approach but although several boundaries arrived, the visitors lost their top three before tea.
Burns (14) was expertly taken low down by Agathangelou at second slip off McKay, Ansari (25) went lbw to Shreck and Kumar Sangakkara (20) edged Taylor to a diving O’Brien. It was a deserved success for the left arm seamer, who went close to dismissing the Sri Lanka international several times in the first innings.
Surrey were 90-4 shortly after the interval as Sibley (6) shuffled across and was leg before to Shreck. An important partnership then developed between Ben Foakes and Wilson, who took the lead beyond 200 by the end of the 33rd over.
The duo extended their alliance to 73 as Wilson struck two consecutive fours through the off-side off Taylor at the start of the 42nd over but he departed looking for a third in a row, caught by Raine at point. Foakes followed four short of his half-century as Raine dismissed him leg before.
Davies was in at eight after suffering a hand injury in the field and he guided a four through backward point as Surrey moved past 200. The left-hander went on to make 20 not out by stumps and Burke finished a good personal day by moving to an unbeaten 19.
Bowling figures: Raine 16-3-52-1, McKay 12-1-55-1, Taylor 11-1-43-2, Shreck 14-3-41-2, Naik 1-0-4-0.
