Trio Ton Up as Leicestershire Dominate Day Three
Wed 13 Jul 2022
An unbroken partnership of 250 runs between Colin Ackermann and Wiaan Mulder highlighted Leicestershire’s dominance with the bat on the third day at Hove.
The pair each hit centuries, while Louis Kimber recorded his maiden first-class ton earlier in the day, as the Running Foxes amassed 370 runs for the loss of just three wickets to reach stumps on 529 for four.
Resuming on 159 for one, Rishi Patel and Kimber picked up where they had left off the evening before. Perched in the nervous nineties overnight, Kimber showed no signs of becoming flustered, driving stand-in skipper Steven Finn to the ropes to bring up his first century in a Leicestershire shirt.
He was dismissed three overs later, however. Finn exacting his revenge by pinning Kimber in front for 104, ending a stand with Patel worth 174.
Ackermann made a circumspect start to his innings, sitting on just two from his first 20 balls faced, before he adopted his go-to shot, the sweep, to register his opening boundary.
Sumptuous sweeps and cute cuts were the hallmarks of an excellent innings that saw the former captain red-ball race towards 50 as lunch approached.
Patel was quietly going about his business at the other end. On 99, with the interval beckoning, dot balls intensified the pressure and forced his first mistake. A costly one.
The opener advanced down the track to James Coles, feathering a thin edge and seeing his bails whipped off for good measure “ caught behind the official verdict - departing for a gut-wrenching score one shy of his maiden first-class century. His career-best score scant consolation.
Ackermann tallied 50, before he lost partner Lewis Hill, who drove straight back to Finn for a simple caught and bowled take in the ex-England seamer’s follow through.
Then came a crucial missed opportunity for Sussex. One they were certainly made to rue. Ackermann, on 71*, ran half the pitch for a quick single, while Mulder remained unmoved, before Delray Rawlins, with time at his mercy, threw the ball wildly over Henry Crocombe’s head to inexplicably scupper the chance.
The pair took tea on 388 for four, with Ackermann 88* and Mulder 67*.
Ackermann made the most of his extra life, cutting aesthetically for four to record back-to-back Championship centuries almost immediately after the restart.
Fellow South African, Mulder, followed suit. The all-rounder maneuvered into position outside off stump before on-driving pleasantly to the fence to register his maiden hundred in the County Championship.
The pair presented few opportunities for Sussex, with just one moment of note, as Mulder gloved down the legside, only for Oli Carter to spill the chance.
An undefeated stand of 250 at stumps saw the two set a new fifth-wicket record partnership against Sussex, comfortably surpassing the previous best of 208, set by David Masters and John Sadler in 2003, also at Hove.
