Promotion-chasers Northants launch fine comeback against Leics

Date: Wednesday 23 September 2009

Day One report: Northants 465-6 (White 191, Hall 138*, Wessels 65) v Leicestershire

Leicestershire let slip a position of some strength as Northamptonshire recovered from 44-4 to register full batting bonus points on the first day of the final Championship game of the season at Wantage Road.

The promotion chasers were in some strife early in the piece but closed in an excellent position on 465-6. Rob White made an outstanding 193, Andrew Hall also made an fine, unbeaten century and Riki Wessels contributed an important 65.

Although you have to give credit to the home batsmen for their performance, County will be bitterly disappointed with their bowling efforts after lunch as runs flowed far too freely for anyone’s liking.

The cause was not helped by a couple of late dropped chances, but in truth, the damage had long been done since then.

It was a strange day. The first period of play undoubtedly belonged to Leicestershire as they reduced the hosts to 67-4, but the rest of the day was definitely dominated by Northants.

They added 186 in 38 overs between lunch and tea and worse was to follow as a further 212 runs came in the remaining 32 overs.

After doing an excellent containing job before lunch in conceding just ten fours, County had a nightmare for the rest of the day. In the afternoon and evening sessions, Northants scored 59 fours and four sixes.

The recovery was based on two partnerships of substance. Firstly, Wessels and White shared 109 for the fifth wicket to help Northants out of bother and the in-form Hall (138*) added a record-breaking 268 for the sixth with White.

With news that former Northants and Leics player Chris Rogers had made a double-century and Derbyshire were piling on the runs against second-place Essex, it turned out to be an excellent day for Northants.

It didn’t start in such fashion. Earlier in the day, Leicestershire, led by Matthew Boyce for the first time, won the toss and invited Northants to bat on a pitch that had a tinge of green to it.

With Boeta Dippenaar and Iain O’Brien unavailable, Greg Smith and Harry Gurney returned to the side. Claude Henderson also came in for Jigar Naik.

Although Northants went on to make 400 and put pressure on their promotion rivals, those ambitions looked dicey early on. County’s bowlers started with great promise and AJ Harris and Gurney struck opening blows within the opening twenty minutes as part of probing early spells.

Niall O’Brien drove uppishly to backward point – where James Taylor took an excellent diving catch – and Stephen Peters also drove loosely at Gurney; perishing to a feather through to New.

Inbetween those wickets, a familiar face came to the wicket. Paul Harrison - part of County’s Twenty20 winning side of 2006 - was making his second first-class appearance for the club at number three and he dug in to help his side get a foothold.

The batter also stroked a four through mid-wicket for good measure during a watchful knock and Alex Wakely was also prepared to be patient. He did not get off the mark until his 27th ball after 43 minutes at the crease, but the shot was certainly worth waiting for; a super drive through the covers that raced for four.

Harrison also stroked through cover point as runs started to come, but County were still probing away and James Benning - who enjoyed an excellent spell of 2-12 off six overs before lunch and was the pick of the attack throughout - struck a third blow for the team.

The all-rounder had Harrison caught off the bottom edge as he attempted a pull for 18, and Leics – in pursuit of five points to avoid finishing bottom - had their first bonus point of the game.

Benning struck again as County continued their fine start, having Wakely well caught behind by a diving New, who was already claiming his third catch. It is fair to say the scoreboard did not make the best of reading for Northants at that stage.

Wessels was determined to be positive though, and before lunch added a quickfire 21. He continued in that vein after the break; adding 30 with White in the opening four overs.

Some of those runs flew off White’s edge off the unfortunate Harris, but there were also a few authentic strokes from the duo. It was a sign of what was to come.

The 50-stand and 100 came up as White – who had now caught up with Wessels – drove squarely for four. Although runs were coming, the ball was still beating the outside edge with regularity. It was a bizarre period but fortune was favouring the brave.

After White had put his foot down, it was then Wessels’ turn to get in on the act. He stroked three handsome fours in the 35th over to bring up a 44-ball half-century which included ten fours.

Boyce then turned to Henderson and Benning with 59 runs having come from the first seven overs after lunch, with the all-rounder sending down a brilliant 39th over where he beat the outside edge four times.

County desperately needed to stop the bleeding and Henderson provided an important breakthrough. Wessels moved too far across his stumps and was trapped leg-before by the slow left armer to end an entertaining 60-ball stay at the crease.

Northants were determined to keep the rate up, though, and Hall – who had already posted 1,000 runs for the season – took on the bowling from word go.

He skewed a drive over extra cover and mowed one across the line from Henderson that both went for four, and found his third boundary in more stylish fashion when driving Benning through point and cover.

White also continued on his way, and a lofted drive bought up a 89-ball fifty. Hall, meanwhile, hit three more drives through cover and was the main contributor of another quickfire 50-run stand with White.

He contributed 35 of the fifty, and drove another four of the back foot shortly afterwards. Hall continued onto a fifty at just over a run a ball with nine fours, and by tea, he had reached 55 and White 88 with the team adding two bonus points in the session, ending it on 253-5.

There were no nerves in the nineties for White, who pulled Gurney twice for four in quick succession. He then moved to 100 from his 144th delivery in a knock that contained sixteen boundaries.

Gurney nearly had his man in the next over, but White’s aerial edge evaded a sprawling Henderson at third man. White and Hall continued to tick things over, bringing up the 300 and the 150-run stand shortly after one another.

White hoisted Henderson for the first six of the day, but in general the slow left armer bowled neatly in tandem with Josh Cobb until the new ball was taken immediately.

When it arrived, it did not temper Northants’ aggressive approach; indeed it had the adverse effect as 97 runs came from the first ten overs of it.

The 350 came up in the 84th over, and two pulled White sixes bought up his 150 from 205 balls with 21 fours and three maximums.

A chance was created when Harris entered the attack but it went begging as Nixon couldn’t cling on to dismiss White – who was on 170 - at slip. Leicestershire badly needed the day to end, and it looked as though that would happen when a combination of rain and bad light took the players off.

However, they came back on and Hall bought up his hundred from the 127th ball faced. He scored sixteen fours in the process.

Harris simply wasn’t having any luck, and Benning dropped Hall at mid off. Both men made the team pay, taking their stand past the previous best sixth-wicket partnership for Northants against Leics.

Things did finish on a high, as the seamer finally got some deserved reward for all of his hard yakka. White caught his namesake at mid-on to end the knock and gain County a second bowling point.

Still, the runs kept coming and County simply could not stop the flow of boundaries. Hall, who made a hundred against the team earlier this season, finished unbeaten on 138, while home captain Nicky Boje ended on 14.

It was simply a day for County to forget, but they need to regroup quickly to ensure they do not finish at the foot of the table.