Wright claims second successive five-fer on final day
Sun 9 May 2021
DAY FOUR | Leicestershire CCC 496 v Surrey CCC 324
POINTS | Leicestershire 15, Surrey 13
SCORECARD | Available HERE
REPORT | Chris Wright recorded his second five-fer in as many fixtures as the Running Foxes claim all three bonus points in less than two final day sessions.
Callum Parkinson chipped in with three first innings as Ed Barnes claimed his maiden first-class wicket for Leicestershire.
Play finally got back underway at the Uptonsteel County Ground following the long weather delay that saw no cricket played at all on day three.
Wright opened the bowling for Leicestershire at 2:40pm with 48 overs remaining in the day, with Ed Barnes partnering Wright from the Pavilion End.
Wright’s day got off to a superb start, bowling three maidens and claiming the wicket of Rory Burns (75).
Burns top-edged the shorter delivery to Callum Parkinson stood at square leg who easily took the catch, and Wright claimed his thirteenth wicket of the season.
Barnes had a difficult start to the day, with Mark Stoneman picking up boundaries with ease off his bowling.
Burns’ wicket was the only one to fall in the 16 overs of the day’s second session, as tea was taken with the visitors sitting one run shy of their first batting bonus point on 199 for one.
Callum Parkinson opened the final session of the game from the Pavilion End, conceding just one run from the over as Stoneman brought up his 91st run and with Surrey’s first batting bonus point.
Surrey only posted one more run before the Running Foxes claimed their second wicket, as Ackermann nonchalantly took the grab of Hashim Amla (15) at gully as the batsman looked to cut Ben Mike away.
There was an air of confusion to the wicket as there was minimal reaction from Leicestershire to Ackermann’s smart grab, including the captain himself, perhaps making County’s feelings towards the remainder of this game clear.
Stoneman then went on to post his first century of the summer after an all-run four off the bowling of Mike. The ton came up in 208 balls and included fifteen fours.
Ollie Pope, the new batsman at the crease following Amla’s dismissal, increased the aggression immediately following his teammate’s century as he sent County for 14 off the next over.
For all his expansive play, though, Pope’s stint at the crease lasted a total of 39 minutes before Wright saw him off for 33.
With the third Surrey wicket, and his second of the innings, Wright brought up Leicestershire’s first bowling point to add on to the four batting points accrued.
Surrey were 255 for three as Ben Foakes joined Stoneman (108*) in the middle. The fourth wicket partnership lasted no longer than five minutes though, as Parkinson chimed in with his first wicket of the day.
The Running Foxes’ spinner delivered a beauty to Foakes that beat the bat of the Surrey man and went on to smash his off-stump to dismiss him for a four-ball duck.
Jamie Smith joined Stoneman (109*) in the middle, with the opener on his fourth partnership of the day and Surrey on 256 for four.
Smith (0) soon joined his teammates back in the Pavilion, though, as Wright’s delivery kept low and sent the batsman’s off-stump cartwheeling out of the ground. Surrey were now 257 for five as Jordan Clark emerged to join Stoneman (110*) in the middle.
Clark, similarly to his predecessors, failed to see Surrey through to the 300-run mark to pick up the visitors’ next batting bonus point.
Instead, the Running Foxes picked up their second bowling bonus point as Wright claimed his fourth of the day.
The ball seemed to keep low again, though, not as low as the one to Smith as it caught Clark (16) off guard and smashed into his off-stump, leaving Surrey on 275 for six as Jamie Overton made his way to the crease.
The wickets kept falling as the Running Foxes soon claimed their second bowling bonus point, as Chris Wright earned his second five-fer in as many fixtures.
Next to fall was the opener, as Stoneman (119) looked to cut Wright away. However, similarly to Amla, he was plucked out of the air by Ackermann “ this time low to his left.
Three balls later and Parkinson had another, after County recently spurned a chance for the spinner to already of claimed his second.
Jamie Overton, after sending the Running Foxes’ vice-captain for six looked to pull him away from the very next ball, but directed it straight to Ed Barnes at mid-wicket who took the grab to dismiss the Surrey man for 15.
Leicestershire soon claimed their final bowling bonus point as Reece Topley skewed Parkinson's delivery high into the sky and was caught at cover by Lewis Hill for 10.
Amar Virdi and joined Rikki Clarke (12) in the middle as Surrey formed their final partnership of the game, sitting 30 runs shy of their next batting bonus point.
The game was then emphatically brought to a close as Leicestershire debutant Ed Barnes claimed his maiden first-class wicket for the Running Foxes after sending Clarke's middle stump back for 16.
Day four of a weather-affected round five of LV= County Championship action was then brought to an end as captain's Ackermann and Burns shook hands after the Running Foxes claimed all 10 of Surrey's first innings wickets in less than two final day sessions.
FIGURES (1st inns) | Wright 24-7-60-5, Evans 5-0-18-0, Parkinson 28-5-107-3, Ackermann 8-0-27-0, Barnes 9.5-0-49-1, Mike 13-1-49-1
TEAM | Hassan Azad, Sam Evans, Marcus Harris, Colin Ackermann (C), Lewis Hill, Harry Swindells (wk), Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, Chris Wright, Ed Barnes, Alex Evans.
SURREY CCC | Rory Burns (C), Hashim Amla, Jordan Clark, Rikki Clarke, Ben Foakes (wk), Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith, Mark Stoneman, Reece Topley, Amar Virdi
IMAGES | Thanks to John Mallett of Outside Off for providing the images throughout the game.
MATCH SPONSOR | Thanks to The Commercial Flooring Company for sponsoring round five of the 2021 LV= County Championship.
