Taylor makes hundred for Seconds
Thu 27 Aug 2015
Rob Taylor and Dan Redfern shared a terrific partnership on the first day of the three-day friendly against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
There was a bad start for Leicestershire who lost the toss and were inserted on a pitch of jungliest green. There were 12 overs lost for rain and there was a 12.45 start in the end.
Eben Kurtz edged Chambers behind, playing defensively, to the third ball of the match, and Leicestershire were 6-2 when the second ball of the next over shaved Lewis Hill's off stump.
Agathangelou (9*) & Taylor (14*) negotiated the remaining five overs before lunch, not without alarm, five slips waiting, with unplayable deliveries as frequent an occurrence as those that could be comfortably negotiated.
Taylor's three fours in a Chambers over, two of them crisp extra cover drives, were the high point of the pre-lunch session, which ended at 24-2.
Boundaries rained in the first few overs after lunch, as the previously immaculate Gleeson (3-3-0-1 at the interval) got a little too full in length. Agathangelou struck him imperiously over mid-off for 4, before being adjudged LBW in Dawborn's first over, pushing half-forward, the score having reached 65.
Taylor hit the first-change bowler Spencer out of the attack, with four imposing off-side boundaries off front and back foot, before the recalled Gleeson proved there was still plenty in the pitch.
The seamer produced a fabulous delivery which bounced and left him, squaring him right up. Unfortunately for the bowler, it was also good enough to defeat Akhil Patel's firm-footed attempt at the catch at first slip. He managed only to knock it on for four, Taylor's 11th, and the first not cleanly struck in a 50 from 64 balls. A subsequent extra cover drive off Dawborn bordered on the contemptuous.
Redfern uppercut Dawborn for the 12th four in a 50 partnership from just 48 balls. Not to be outdone in the boundary-fest, Redfern's own 50, from 50 balls, included 12 well-struck fours all around the wicket.
In just the 38th over, Taylor's hundred, and the 200, came up simultaneously with his 22nd four, an effortless push through cover from his off-spinning namesake, only for Redfern to depart for 73 (off 71, 15x4) in the next over, with a chip to mid-wicket off Dawborn. The partnership had yielded 143 in just over 21 overs, with 29 fours.
Oldfield got a gift of a leg-stump half-volley to get underway with a two to long leg next ball, then pulled a four from the spinner, whose line and length reflected that of the Northants attack as a whole, not consistent enough.
Gleeson was brought back for what proved to be the last over before tea and struck twice, Oldfield slightly unfortunate in being caught behind, glancing down the leg side. Wells was then pinned LBW second ball, by one which appeared to cut back. 219-5 at tea, Taylor on 106.
Michael Burgess began the evening session with a fine cover driven boundary, only for the elements to again intervene early in the next over - much to the relief of Taylor who, facing Gleeson, had just taken his first ball of the session square in the box!
A comedic moment ensued as the groundstaff's tractor refused to start, so the pitch remained uncovered during a brief squall. By the time they got hold of a tarpaulin as back-up, the rain had stopped (4 overs lost).
Taylor's innings ended on 111 (138 balls), four overs after the resumption, bowled by a full inswinger from Gleeson which left only one stump standing.
Gleeson and Dawborn had been the most consistent of the Northants bowlers, and now combined to quickly bring about the end of the innings, yorking both Burgess (12) & Zak Chappell (1), before Gleeson rounded off a return of 6-51 by having Atif Sheikh caught at first slip from a very full ball, after several fruitless swishes.
Naik finished 5*, which included one pedigree off-drive for four as Leicestershire subsided from 208-3 to 248 all out in 94 balls.
The Northants innings began with Sheikh deciding to test out the middle of the still-green pitch against MacDonnell. This did not trouble the latter, who hooked him for three fours and a very large six over backward square leg.
On replacing him, Chappell, too, seemed to struggle for rhythm, serving up two short, wide four balls for MacDonnell to start his spell, then breaking down injured after nine balls. Wells finished the over, and was the steadiest of the bowlers - his 4.3 overs costing just 5 - along with opening bowler Maddock, who beat the bat a handful of times in his spell of 7-1-18-0.
MacDonnell reached a fifty off 58 balls, with nine fours - mostly square of the wicket, either side - and a six, Patel a more measured 19*(55 balls) in the total of 77-0 (20.3 overs) when bad light cut a further ten overs from the day's allocation.
