Brave County fall just short

Date: Friday 27 August 2010

Jacques du Toit and Paul Nixon both made brilliant centuries but Leicestershire fell just short of victory against Surrey on an absorbing final day of the LV=County Championship game at Grace Road.

After the captains agreed on a Leicestershire chase of 361 to win from a minimum of 76 overs, the team suffered a double blow on 109 when Matthew Boyce (44) and James Taylor fell in successive balls to Gareth Batty but du Toit and Nixon shared 183 to give the team real hope of winning.

However, Chris Tremlett and off-spinner Batty - who took five wickets between them - used their experience to good effect and Leicestershire closed on 338-8; 23 short of the target they set out for at midday.

The former England seamer also gave his side a chance to win by taking the eighth wicket with eleven balls to go. In the end, honours were even as Nathan Buck and Nadeem Malik saw out the remainder of what had been a fabulous day's entertainment.

The groundstaff, both captains and all players deserve great credit for making a spectacle out of a final day that could easily have just gone through the motions - or not even started at all given all the rain that has been around.

Matthew Hoggard and Rory Hamilton-Brown agreed on setting up a game and it proved to be a thrilling final day with du Toit and Nixon in fine form.

du Toit played a two-paced innings - his first fifty included just one boundary and his second half-century came from just 46 balls and included six fours and a maximum as he upped the ante impressively - and Nixon was a perfect foil in a real gutsy partnership.

When he fell, 66 runs were required off eleven overs but credit must go to the opposition, who held their nerve when it would have been easy to lose their heads and that ensured Leicestershire took just four points from what had been a really brave effort.

It was initially feared that play may not be able to resume on time but thanks to the excellent work by the groundstaff and some morning sunshine, the game was able to commence at 11am. The first hour was about Leicestershire knocking off some of the deficit against some declaration bowling and the team reached 123-0.

Gary Wilson, Mark Ramprakash, Arun Harinath and Hamilton-Brown all turned their arms over and Greg Smith and Boyce moved to 58 and 57 respectively by the time Hoggard called them in. It meant that the bonus points finished with Surrey on five and Leicestershire one and Smith and Boyce reconvened in the middle to start the second innings.

The first fifty minutes of batting will have allowed the duo to settle into their processes but facing the new ball partnership of Tremlett and Jade Dernbach was a completely different kettle of fish. The ball was moving around sharply and Tremlett always finds bounce from back of a length with his height so it was a testing examination.

Smith began in neat fashion by clipping Dernbach through square for a boundary and he followed that up with a lovely punchy stroke through mid-wicket for three and a flowing cover drive for four. He survived a chance when edging a Dernbach away swinger to Batty at slip but the off-spinner couldn't grasp a juggling effort as he fell backwards.

Opening partner Boyce cut away for four to open his boundary account but after Smith again drove pleasantly for four, he lost his wicket to debutant Steven Cheetham. The Lancashire loanee nipped one back to trap the batsman leg before to end his innings of 23 and he hadn't fully cashed in on his second opportunity.

It was Surrey's first breakthrough in the game and Jacques du Toit joined Boyce at the crease. The left hander had settled in nicely now and cut Dernbach away with a beautiful piece of timing to move into double figures. Boyce also pulled for four on the cusp of lunch to take the score to 64-1.

It left 297 runs required from a minimum of 61 overs in the last two sessions and Boyce picked up where he left off by driving squarely for four. The batsmen were also picking up singles through scampering well between the wickets and not only was it chipping away at the target, that strike rotation caused problems given the left-right hand combination at the wicket.

du Toit also picked up plenty of twos so, it was very much a positive start after the break and Surrey were forced into a change of thought process. Batty was introduced from the Pavilion End and Boyce greeted his arrival with a nice drive off the back foot.

A single bought up the hundred and du Toit then drove Batty inside out through wide mid off. The partnership was going nicely on 65 but Batty struck twice in two balls to put the cat among the pigeons.

Batty bowled Boyce as he attempted to lap sweep and then trapped Taylor leg before first ball. The score was now 109-3 and although Leicestershire needed a period of consolidation, they also needed to keep the board moving with the rate over five per over.

Nixon looked to be positive from the outset and a square drive bought him a first boundary of the innings. He also wouldn't allow Batty to settle and lofted the tweaker over mid on for another boundary.

du Toit was going along nicely and Nixon reverse swept Batty as the score reached 150. du Toit then moved to a 96-ball half-century and the stats showed how hard he'd worked for it as only one four was hit in the process. The stand was now passed fifty and du Toit's second four duly followed as he pulled Batty away.

That took the score to 172-3 after 44 at tea and left 189 more required from 32 overs after the break. du Toit started with intent by striking Dernbach for a straight six in the third over after the interval and Nixon pulled a further boundary as the duo kept playing well.

Nixon then moved to an excellent 71-ball fifty with his fifth four; a flowing drive through cover. du Toit flicked a nonchalant shot off his pads for another four that bought up the 100 partnership and he also pulled Tremlett away for a further boundary later that over.

Batty had swapped to the Bennett End after tea and he was making it hard to score for the batsman. It was a fascinating duel with Nixon, who was looking to be aggressive at every available opportunity.

The target was 143 with 24 to go and Batty sent down a canny over that went for just two off the final ball. Runs were coming from the other end though and after Cheetham replaced Tremlett, the youngster went for four first ball back as du Toit pulled over straight mid wicket.

Hamilton-Brown introduced himself and both batsmen found the fence as eleven runs came off it. Nixon reverse swept to the fence before du Toit delicately helped a leg side delivery on its way.

It meant 118 were needed off the last 20 and Batty's next offering went for just a single. Cheetham returned in place of the skipper and du Toit reached three figures with a fantastic pull and the landmark came from 142 balls with seven fours and a six.

Nixon then drove Batty towards the electronic scoreboard and the 150 stand came up shortly afterwards. The last hour was then called with 100 needed and du Toit hit a huge straight six over the indoor school as he continued to prosper.

He took a blow in a delicate area when Cheetham dropped one short but he kept his cool and pulled the returning Tremlett for four in the 63rd over. By the end of that, a further 82 were needed from thirteen overs.

Despite their excellent work, it was still a big ask. Nixon found the fence with a cover drive in the next over but there was a huge blow later on as du Toit picked out Batty at mid-wicket. He left to a standing ovation and the equation was now a run a ball with eleven overs to go.

That was still very much within the realms of possibility but key man Batty returned and New fell as he looked to cut away. He didn't get a great connection and Wilson took a super diving catch at point as the game continued to ebb and flow. Surrey used the breakthrough to squeeze and 58 were needed off nine.

Batty snook in another tight over and after Tremlett also bowled accurately, fifty runs were needed off seven overs. Nixon relieved the pressure with a pulled four and White was doing his bit by getting him the strike. However, the all-rounder was bowled for seven with the score on 322 and Henderson came in with 39 required off 5.2 overs.

Batty held his nerve to go for just three and Nixon got stuck on 99 for four balls against Tremlett before moving to a well-played 140-ball century. He hit nine fours in the process and a tenth followed to keep victory hopes alive but he chopped a slower ball onto his stumps from the last ball of the second-last over.

It left 27 needed off two and Henderson was bowled by Tremlett, who then went perilously close to dismissing Buck twice. The game had swung and Surrey now fancied their chances of winning; it was that kind of game!

The result did not help Leicestershire's promotion bid but boy, did they give it a real go. In the end, the draw was shared and Leicestershire took four points out of the game and Surrey eight; it hardly seemed fair reward for their efforts but the crowd must have enjoyed every minute of it.