Northamptonshire v Leicestershire Specsavers D2 at Wantage Road Draw

Day 4

Bavuma's 68 helped see out the final day with Northants reaching 206 for 6, leading by 212 before a draw was agreed at 4.50pm

The Cricketer | 27/06/2019 

Temba Bavuma’s first half-century in the County Championship earned Northamptonshire a draw with Leicestershire at Wantage Road.

Bavuma’s 68 helped see out the final day with Northants reaching 206 for 6, leading by 212 before a draw was agreed at 4.50pm.

Bavuma steered Northants through a fairly quiet afternoon with Alex Wakely, who made 46, and although wickets fell either side of tea, the lead was large enough for Leicestershire to shake hands before the final hour and take 10 points from the game. Northants also took 10 points but are left winless after seven matches and bottom of Division Two after Durham’s win at Sussex.

With the second day lost entirely to rain, time was against either side trying to force a result and the final day began with only Leicestershire holding an outside chance of victory but any ambitions with snuffed out by Bavuma.

The South Africa international had failed to make a significant score in eight innings before this and will be relieved to have finally passed fifty in this his fifth match of an eight-game stint. A number of previous starts - five times he had passed 20 - were not converted to larger scores but here would have breathed a sigh of relief to go to a half-century in 108 balls with eight fours.

He took his time to settle, playing and missing against the new ball having arrived in the 10th over. He drove loosely at Neil Dexter, getting an outside edge that flew just out of the reach of point, and top-edged a hook at Mohammad Abbas that flew down to the fine leg fence, but later drove Will Davis sweetly through the covers and flicked the same bowler past midwicket before sweeping Colin Ackermann’s offspin for four after tea.

It looked like the final period of the game could bring Bavuma a maiden century for his new county but he hooked at Dieter Klein and was caught at deep-square. It was just after Adam Rossington had ran past a delivery Ackermann fired down the leg side and was stumped for 19 and it kept Leicestershire’s hopes alive for a short while.

After resuming 273 for 7 to reduce the first-innings deficit to just 6, Leicestershire knew the new ball needed to do damage and Abbas struck with his first ball to have Rob Newton well held at second slip for a golden duck. Ricardo Vasconcelos then fended a delivery to short leg but Bavuma and Wakely steadied Northants into the afternoon. 

Wakely played pleasantly for the second time in the game but Abbas slanted a delivery into him to win an lbw decision and then Rob Keogh edged Chris Wright to Paul Horton at first slip for seven. Bavuma couldn’t quite see Northants to the close but the home side had enough batting in reserve to kill Leicestershire’s dreams of a late heist.