Wickets tumble on day two to set up intriguing third day

DAY TWO | Leicestershire CCC 109 v Kent CCC 232 & 210 for 9

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REPORT | Day two got underway in similar fashion to day one, under grey skies with a chill in the air at the Uptonsteel County Ground as Louis Kimber and Ben Mike commenced Leicestershire’s first innings on 66 for 5.

The Running Foxes were put under pressure from the first ball of the day as Milnes’ delivery struck Kimber on the helmet and ran away for four.

A short delay in play for the Foxes man to complete the correct concussion protocol proceeded but play swiftly got back underway.

Three balls later though, and Kimber’s stint in the middle came to an end on 13 (28b) after Milnes pinned him infront.

Milnes’ second over of the day yielded his, and Kent’s, second wicket of the day, this time trapping Mike infront for 17 (44b).

Ed Barnes joined Callum Parkinson in the middle with Leicestershire on 73 for 7 following the early wickets of Kimber and Mike, as County still trailed the visitors by 159.

Barnes got off to a solid start, having recorded three boundaries within his first four overs faced, but once again, the concussion protocol had to be carried out, as Barnes this time was struck on the helmet off the bowling of Milnes.

Barnes carried on after being deemed fit to play, but after nine further deliveries retired not out on 14 for further assessment.

Chris Wright then emerged to join Parkinson in the middle, after the duo of Barnes and Parkinson had recorded 20 further runs to the Leicestershire total.

Wright immediately earned himself a reprieve as Stevens at first slip missed the chance of the catch off the bowling of Logan after the bowler found the edge of Wright.

The remaining three Foxes wickets then fell within two overs of one another, with Parkinson (2, 36b) going first, pinned infront by Logan.

Will Davis emerged to join Wright in the middle and lasted just five deliveries before edging a Stewart delivery to Leaning at third slip who took the catch at waist height “ Davis departing for nought.

Meanwhile, Barnes had undergone the relevant tests and was deemed fit to continue his innings as he and Wright formed the final Leicestershire partnership.

Barnes restarted his innings with impetus, claiming two boundaries off the bowling Stewart including a well-timed pull down through backward square leg from the short delivery.

The first ball of the 45th over brought Leicestershire’s innings to a close on 109, though, as Wright looked to sweep Logan’s delivery away but caught it on the back of the bat, and the ball looped towards Crawley stood at second slip.

Barnes finished the man not out on 22 (27b) as County’s first innings came to a close on 109, trailing by 124.

Wright opened the bowling for Leicestershire from the Bennett End with Crawley on strike, and the Kent batsmen recorded the first boundary of the innings as he drove Wright away through the covers from the third ball of the innings.

Three balls later, and this time Crawley earned himself a slight reprieve as his edge off Wright fell inches short of Ackermann at second slip.

The opening duo saw the visitors through to the lunch interval with all wickets remaining intact, with a score of 25, Crawley leading the way on 17*, and Cox on 8*.

The attack of Wright and Davis continued their partnership, opened the second interval and began to build the pressure on the Kent opening duo after conceding just three runs from the first five afternoon overs.

The pressure then told after ten overs in the afternoon as Callum Parkinson was introduced into the attack.

His third ball of the over would have given him a lot of confidence, after turning one away and beating the bat of the batsman.

Three balls later and it was a similar delivery that dismissed Crawley for 26 (51b) as Parkinson got one to turn away from the attempted defence of the opener, and go on to clip the top of his off stump.

The stubborn opening partnership had come to an end on 49 as Joe Denly joined Cox in the middle.

The second wicket partnership proved a tough stand to break as well, but Ben Mike came in with the breakthrough from his fourth over of the innings.

Mike claimed his first of the game as he trapped Denly infront for 20 from 26 balls.

The third wicket fell in quick succession with Parkinson claiming his second of the innings. The Foxes man turned one away from Cox (38, 66b), found the edge, and Ackermann took the catch at first slip.

Kent were now 84 for three with Jack Leaning and Sam Billings in the middle.

The fourth wicket duo began to build a fruitful partnership and were soon approaching their fiftieth run.

A change was made in the Foxes attack as Ed Barnes came in for the first time today and immediately struck with his first delivery.

Billings (19, 26b) was the man on strike as Barnes found his edge and Swindells took the pouch behind, to leave Kent on 128 for 4 with Robinson making his way to the middle.

Ollie Robinson made his way to the middle and only managed to record five runs as part of a 14-run fifth wicket partnership, before making his way back to the pavilion.

Barnes was the man to strike “ to claim his second of the innings “ as Robinson (5, 9b) played down the wrong line and watched the delivery crash into his off stump.

Four deliveries later and the players were removed from the field of play as the rain began to descend in Leicestershire, with Kent on 148 for 5 with Leaning leading the way on 33*, joined by Stevens on 5*.

This prompted the tea break and an extended break in play until 16:44 when the players finally re-emerged. No overs were lost in the day as Kent resumed on 148 for five.

In the fifth over of the evening session, the breakthrough was once again made for Leicestershire by Parkinson as the Running Foxes’ captain and vice-captain combined for the second time this innings.

The wicket to fall was that of Leaning (34, 57b), for the first time in this fixture, as Ackermann grabbed the nick off from the batsman at first slip.

Four balls later and the Foxes followed up with a quick second wicket of the evening, as Barnes claimed his third of the innings.

The new batsman, Stewart (1, 3b) was making his way back to the pavilion after Barnes crashed his delivery into the Kent man’s off stump.

Milnes joined Stevens in the middle with the latter anchoring the lower order resistance from Kent with the visitors’ lead ever growing.

The eighth wicket partnership put on a stand of 23, with Milnes recording five himself before falling lbw to the bowling of Parkinson “ who claimed his fourth of the innings.

The Foxes vice-captain then went on to record his third five-wicket haul of the season as he claimed the wicket of Gilchrist for a 13-ball duck.

Parkinson got one to turn across the batsman and clip the top of middle and off with Kent sitting on 200 for 9 as Logan joined Stevens in the middle to form the final Kent wicket in the fixture.

Moments before the wicket of Gilchrist, Stevens recorded his half-century after turning Parkinson into the leg side for the required single, the fifty coming in 39 balls, including eight fours and one six.

At 17:54 the players were removed from the field of play once again, this time due to bad light, and play was officially called at 18:30 with Kent sitting on 210 for 9, led by Stevens on 55* alongside Logan on 4*.

FIGURES (1st inns) | Milnes 11-5-24-3, Stevens 13-5-34-1, Stewart 9-3-20-3, Logan 8.1-4-8-3, Denly 3-0-12-0

FIGURES (2nd inns) | Wright 10-1-44-0, Davis 6-1-15-0, Parkinson 20-9-41-5, Mike 6-0-37-1, Ackermann 2-0-13-0, Barnes 9-1-57-3

TEAM | Hassan Azad, Sam Evans, Colin Ackermann (C), Lewis Hill, Louis Kimber, Harry Swindells (wk), Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, Ed Barnes, Chris Wright, Will Davis.

KENT CCC | Zak Crawley, Jordan Cox, Joe Denly, Jack Leaning, Sam Billings (C, wk), Ollie Robinson, Darren Stevens, Grant Stewart, Matt Milnes, Nathan Gilchrist, James Logan.

IMAGES | Thanks to John Mallett of Outside Off for providing the images throughout the game.

MATCH SPONSOR | Thanks to Dandelion Clothing for sponsoring our 2021 LV= County Championship fixture against Kent CCC.