Leicestershire Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at Grace Road Win 23 pts Report

       

Early days

04/05

PATTERSON-WHITE FIVE-FER SETS-UP COMFORTABLE WIN

Notts comfortably beat Leicestershire by 10 wickets at 13:17 today to take 23 points and go top of the championship.

A dismal crowd barely reaching three figures was in attendance on a dull and cool day in Leicester.

With the fourth delivery of the day, Scriven (2) was caught at short leg by Haynes off Patterson-White; 216 for 8 in the 69th over. Ajaz Patel inside edged James just passed his stumps in the 70th over. Ajaz Patel then drove Patterson-White for successive boundaries in the 71st over. Next over, Patterson-White got one to turn considerably out of the rough and it went through Patel's (15) gate bowling him middle and off; 236 for 9 in the 73rd over. Any chance of a really quick victory were extinguished when Green and Hull survived 14.2 overs adding a further 18 runs.

James was unlucky during his six over spell beating the bat on numerous occasions without finding the edge. Stone replaced him for the 82nd over but did not add to his match tally of eight wickets. The new ball was taken by Stone and Patterson-White with Leicestershire 251 for 9 off 83 overs. Green's (37) 141 ball vigil finally ended when he skied Patterson-White (36 14 53 5) to Stone at backward point. Leicestershire 254 all out off 87 overs. Hull had faced 37 balls without scoring a run. Patterson-White had bowled throughout completely out-bowling Leicestershire's Kiwi slow left armer Ajaz Patel.

Notts required 73 to win off 75 overs. Holland (Bennett End) and Ajaz Patel shared the new ball. Hameed and Slater initially made slow progress. Notts 10 for 0 off 5 overs. Ajaz Patel then conceded seven (including a four through third man for Hameed) and Holland went for five including a four to long leg by Slater.

Slater was dropped on 15 by first slip Rishi Patel off Holland in the 9th over. Green came on for the 10th over and went for nine including a four by Slater down to long leg. Scriven replaced Holland for the 11th over. With Notts 48 for 0 off 12 overs, lunch was delayed 15 minutes.

Slater hit two boundaries through point off Scriven; 11 off the 13th over. Hull came on for the 14th over, Slater cover driving him for four, seven off the over. Scriven then conceded four. One over remained until lunch. Hameed took a single off Hull's first delivery and then Slater made the winning hit a six over extra cover to take him to 52 not out (off 55 balls, 7x4, 1x6). Notts 77 for 0 off 15.2 overs had won an uninterrupted game with 59.4 overs to spare with skipper Hameed on 22. The decision to enforce the follow-on fully vindicated. MAG

03/05

Day 3

STONE KEEPS NOTTS' CHANCES ROLLING

After a fascinating day 3 at Grace Road, Leicestershire lead by 33 runs with three second innings wickets still standing. With Hutton declared unfit, James Hayes substituted for him and thus made his first-class debut for Notts.

Resuming on 220 for 8 in front of sparse crowd of around 200. Stone and James were bowling on a cloudy and cool morning. Eskinazi and Ajaz Patel looked in little trouble against the old ball. Eskinazi  reached his 50 off 123 balls with a single off James in the 72nd over.

Hayes came on for the 75th over and his second ball was cover driven by Ajaz Patel for 4. Two balls later Patel smashed another four off Hayes to bring up his 50 off 85 balls, nine off the over. With no sign of a wicket forthcoming, Pennington came on for the 78th over. Patel skied Pennington to Hameed at mid-wicket who took the chance. His 62 was a first class best beating his 57 for Central Districts versus Canterbury at Nelson in November 2024; 266 for 9 after 80 overs. The ninth wicket had added 120 valuable runs in 28 overs. If Notts thought the Foxes would lie down they were wrong as Eskinazi and last man Hull stayed together for a further 15 overs and shared a partnership of 42.

Stone returned for the 85th over and James replaced Pennington for the 88th over. The new ball was taken with Leicestershire 281 for 9 off 88 overs. Eskinazi hit Stone for two fours and a six over extra cover; 16 off the 89th over. Patterson-White came on belatedly for the 93rd over. Eskinazi reached his 100 off 190 balls with a single off Patterson-White in the 95th over. A valuable innings for the home side with periods of  defence interspersed with boundaries and at least half a dozen of wild missed slogs. With the interval now delayed, James finally took the final wicket Eskinazi (100 off 191 balls, 12x4, 1x6) caught behind by Verreynne. Leicestershire 308 all out off 95.1 overs. Hull 7 not out. Stone 5 for 68 – outstanding yesterday. Lunch was taken between the innings.

With the home side having recovered from 112 for 7, with Hutton lame and with Notts struggling to take wickets all morning it came as a surprise when Notts leading by 182 runs enforced the follow on. 

Stone and Pennington shared the new ball but in a reprise of the first innings Leicestershire openers Rishi Patel and Weatherald put bat to ball. The Foxes 39 for 0 off 8 overs. Hayes replaced Stone for the 9th over and conceded nine runs. Leicestershire raced to 50 in the 10th over. James came on for the 14th over. Hayes was proving expensive and was wayward in direction. Patterson-White replaced him from the Pavilion End for the 17th over and bowled unchanged for the rest of the day. Rishi Patel got to his 50 off 62 balls with a four through third man off James. But it was James who was to make the first two crucial breakthroughs with him removing Patel who was caught at first slip by Patterson-White for 53; 99 for 1 in the 18th over. In his next over, Weatherald (38) gloved a short ball and it looped to keeper Verreynne; 104 for 2 in the 20th over. Hill hit consecutive boundaries off James in the 22nd over. Stone replaced James from the Bennett End and with his second delivery had Holland (6) caught at third slip by Haynes; 119 for 3 in the 26th over. Hill (15) was caught low down by Patterson-White at first slip off Stone, 128 for 4 in the 30th over. Eskinazi was dropped on 0 by Patterson-White at first slip an easy chance but later in the same over he was out leg before for a 8-ball duck; 128 for 5 in the 32nd over. Leicestershire got to tea on 131 for 5 off 36 overs with Tattersall on 9 and Cox on 0.

Cox, on the sweep, was lbw to Patterson-White to the third delivery after tea (131 for 6). A pair for the former Pear. Notts had taken 6 wickets for 32 runs and were sniffing an unlikely three-day win. They were held up by a 7th wicket stand of 71 in 30 overs between Tattersall and Green as batting became easier against the older ball. Patterson-White continued to do a great job in restricting the runs on a strip giving him little assistance. Hameed meanwhile rotated his seamers from the Bennett End. Pennington after a five over spell was then replaced by James. Hayes then came on for James for the 56th over with the Foxes taking the lead. Tattersall got to his 50 off 105 balls with a single off Hayes in the 60th over. The Leicestershire 200 came up in the 64th over with a four through fine leg by Tattersall. Stone came back with three overs left after Hayes' five over spell. . Then in penultimate over, Tattersall (61 off 133 balls) was caught by Duckett at first slip off Patterson-White ; 212 for 7 off 67 overs. A wicket Notts so badly needed. Stumps came at 1826 with The Foxes on 215 for 7 off 68 overs with the obdurate Green on 26 and Scriven on 2. Stone (3-34) leading the way and Patterson-White (26-10-38-2) blocking an end up and taking two crucial wickets

Leicestershire bat right down to number 11, Notts though have the option of a new ball in 12 overs. An overcast day is expected tomorrow. MAG

 

02/05

Day 2

STONE FIVE WICKETS SANDWICHED BETWEEN FOXES' FIGHTBACK

BUT NOTTS STILL END DAY WELL PLACED

Leicestershire trail Notts by 270 runs with two first innings wickets remaining on a topsy turvy Day 2 at Grace Road.

Notts comfortably placed at 405 for 4 overnight collapsed dramatically on a cloudy morning losing five wickets for 29 runs in 10 mad cap overs.

Scriven (Bennett End) and Green opened the bowling. Haynes and Clarke negotiated the first 33 balls. Then Haynes (15) going for an expansive drive was bowled by Green; 422 for 5 in the 102nd over. Twenty-two balls later, Verreynne (7) playing down the wrong line was bowled by Green, the former Somerset man's fifth victim, 432 for 6 in the 106th over. Clarke (97) was lbw to a Scriven that him in the nether regions 442 for 7 in the 109th over. Notts only needed a one run to obtain their fifth batting point off the 110th over bowled by Green. James got a single off the second delivery but some poor cricket from Patterson-White (5) who defended three balls on the trot and then was caught behind off the last ball going for a wild slog; 449 for 8. A crucial point thrown away.

Hutton departed for a six-ball duck caught by Cox off Green, 451 for 9 in the 111th over. Holland bizarrely then took Green off and James and Pennington took advantage of some poor bowling from former England man Hull who came on for the 114th over, James hitting him for four through mid-wicket and then four through backward point. Next over, James hit Hull for four through mid-wicket and pulled six over fine leg. Pennington cover drove Patel for four. In his following over, Hull was hit by James for six over backward square leg. Scriven replaced Hull for the 120th over, James edging him for four. Holland replaced Patel for the 121st over. James (41) was the last man to fall caught behind off Scriven – five catches for the impressive Ben Cox. Notts 490 all out off 121.1 overs with Pennington 10 not out. Green with a career best 7 for 112. 

Leicestershire had seven minutes to bat prior to lunch. Hutton (Pavilion End) and Pennington shared the new ball. Leicestershire 9 for 0 off 2 overs at lunch. Rishi Patel 5 not out and Weatherald on 4.

Weatherald hit two successive boundaries off Hutton in the 5th over. Pennington who was bowling  too short suddenly pitched one up and removed Weatherald's (14) off pole with an absolute peach of a delivery; 48 for 1 off 8 overs. Hutton broke down four balls into his fifth over and immediately left the field and despite rumours to the contrary has not yet been substituted out of the game. Stone finished his over, his first delivery being hit to the boundary to bring up the Foxes 50. Little did we know that Stone was about to bowl his most outstanding piece of bowling for Notts generating good pace and late outswing.

Rishi Patel (37) edged Stone into Verreynne's gloves; 52 for two in the 11th over. James came on for the 14th over. In the 17th over, Stone trimmed Holland's bails bowling him for 6; 63 for 3. Patterson-White replaced Stone for the 23rd over and in his second over he dismissed Hill (14) tamely hitting him to Hameed at mid-wicket; 84 for 4 in the 25th over. Pennington replaced James for the 26th over. Tattersall got successive boundaries of Pennington in the 28th over. Leicestershire reached 100 in the 32nd over off the returning James. Leicestershire reached tea on 109 for 4 after 36 overs with Tattersall on 25 and Eskinazi on 8.

Stone returned straight after tea from the Bennett End. In his second over he had Tattersall (27) caught behind by Verreynne diving to his right; 112 for 5 off the first ball of the 40th over. Cox departed for a 5-ball duck caught by Patterson-White at first slip off Stone; 112 for 6 off 40 overs. Stone went nap bowling Green for an eight-ball duck; 112 for 7 in the 44th over. Stone then tired and conceded 14 off his two overs.

Pennington returned for the 50th over and in his second over had Scriven (19) brilliantly caught by substitute James Hayes diving forwards at long leg; 146 for 8. Leicestershire though bat very deep and Eskinazi and Ajaz Patel, clearly a lot better than a normal number ten batsman, added an unbroken 74 in 16.3 overs in relatively untroubled fashion. Pennington like in his earlier spell though had problems with his line and length.

James came back for the 58th over. After a 20 over spell from the Pavilion End Patterson-White made way for Stone. Stumps were drawn at 1826 with Leicestershire 220 for 8 off 68 overs with Eskinazi on 44 and Patel on 38 with Stone’s current figures 5 for 41. He bowled impressively but with Hutton crocked James and Pennington struggling a bit for their line, Leicestershire were let of the hook in the last hour. Patterson-White was steady and got a couple of deliveries to lift. MAG

01/05

Day 1

SLATER EXCELS

as Notts dominate after being inserted

Notts dominated the opening day of the latest championship fixture at Grace Road. After being inserted on what is currently an easy paced pitch in sunny conditions, they closed the day on 405 for 4 off 96 overs with the superb Ben Slater (178 off 276 balls, 24x4) leading the way.

With Tongue unavailable, Stone came back into the Eleven. Fergus O'Neill recovering from a rib injury and named in the squad was not risked.

Davey (Bennett End) and Holland opened the bowling on a green pitch and there was a bit of playing and missing early doors from Slater in particular. The pitch though behaved a lot better than expected prior to play. With Notts 45 for 0 off 12 overs, Hull came on from the Bennett End, Notts reaching 50 via a boundary through backward point by Slater. Slater then pulled him for four through square leg; 12 off the 13th over. Green then came on for the 14th over and proved to be Leicestershire's best bowler throughout the day. Slater found the ropes twice off the wayward Hull in the 19th over. Davey returned for the 21st over. Slater reached 50 off 68 balls with a single to short third man off Davey in the 22nd over. Hameed (42) was smartly caught low to his right by keeper Cox off Green; 97 for 1 in the 24th over. A two for Duckett in the same over brought up the Notts 100. Holland came on for the 27th over. Slater hit two offside boundaries off Green in the 28th over. Notts got to lunch on 120 for 1 off 29 overs with Slater on 61 and Duckett on 12. Very much Notts' morning after being put in. Davey and Hull particularly wayward.

Hull and Holland bowled straight after lunch. Slater hit successive boundaries off Holland in the 31st over. Duckett hit three straight boundaries off four Holland deliveries, 13 off the 35th over, Davey immediately replaced him. Hull conceded 11 off the following òver with two boundaries for Slater. Davey and Green then applied a temporary squeeze on the scoring. A straight driven boundary by Duckett  off Green took him to 50 off 52 balls in the 42nd over. Ajaz Patel came on for the 45th over. The Notts 200 came up in the 46th over via a Duckett single off Green. Duckett got three successive boundaries off Patel in the following over, two on the sweep. Slater reached his 12th first-class ton for Notts off 152 balls with a quick offside single off Patel in the 51st over. Duckett (77 off 88 balls, 11x4) on the sweep was lbw to Ajaz Patel; 228 for 2 in the 53rd over. The second wicket had added 131 in 29 overs. A cover driven four by Slater off Ajaz Patel brought up the Notts 250 in the 57th over. Hull returned for the 58th over. Davey crocked it in the groin whilst attempting to stop a ball on the boundary in the 63rd over and was subbed out of the game and replaced by Tom Scriven. Notts reached tea on 282 for 2 off 64 overs with Slater on 127 and Clarke on 22. Notts had made hay in the friendly batting conditions adding 162 in 35 overs in the afternoon session.

Notts only added 19 in the first seven overs after tea bowled by Green and Ajaz Patel. They reached 300 in the 71st over. Scriven started bowling in the 72nd over. The in-form Clarke dabbed two successive offside fours off Scriven in the 74th over. Slater on 144 was dropped low down by Tattersall at cover off Ajaz Patel in the 75th over. Clarke got to his 50 off 73 balls with a single off Patel in the 79th over. The new ball was taken by skipper Holland and Green was taken with Notts 336 for 2 off 80 overs. Green bowled impressively with the new cherry. A cover driven two by Slater off Green took Slater to 150 off 247 balls in the 82nd over. The Notts 350 came up in the 83rd over via a single for Slater. Slater had two lifes on 169, Green the bowler. Firstly he was dropped by Patel at cover. Next ball he snicked him to the boundary between the keeper and slip. A tired Slater (178) was caught behind by Cox off Green, 378 for three in the 90th over. The third wicket had added 150 in 37 overs.

Nightwatchman Stone departed for an eight-ball duck caught at second slip by Ajaz Patel off the deserving Green. (3 for 88); 380 for 4 in the 92nd over. Haynes (10 not out) joined Clarke (80 not out) in the middle and they batted out the remaining 26 balls. Notts took 14 off the last over of the day bowled by Green including three boundaries for Clarke including two off the edge. When stumps were drawn at 18:28, they were in an extremely strong position targeting a 600 plus total by mid-afternoon tomorrow.

Green got the new ball to move which will give Notts hope over the next few days, particularly as overhead conditions should be better for bowling tomorrow and Sunday. MAG

1000 in attendance, LCCC report

Surprise inclusions of Fergus O'Neill and Freddie McCann in a 14 man squad:

Haseeb Hameed C
Ben Slater
Ben Duckett

Frddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Kyle Verreynne X

Lyndon James

Fergus O'Neill

Liam Pattwrson-White

Farhan Ahmed

Brett Hutton

Olly Stone

Dillon Pennington