Alternative match report

Date: Tuesday 25 May 2010

Here is the second day's report from Work Placement student Christopher Finch:

17 wickets fell on a crazy day at Grace Road, which saw Leicestershire take a 170 run lead in to the third day of their LV= County Championship Division Two match-up with top of the table Glamorgan.

Andrew McDonald completed his maiden hundred for the Foxes in the morning, on the day it was announced he had been called up for the Australia A team’s series with Sri Lanka in Queensland, meaning he will miss up to ten of Leicestershire’s Friends Provident t20 matches in the process.

The home side closed on 45-5 in their second innings, having bowled out the Welsh side for only 166 in the afternoon. It was their lowest total of the season so far.

Starting the day on 263-8, McDonald and Matthew Hoggard were looking to steer Leicestershire up to the 300 mark, with the Australian moving towards his third first-class century. He farmed the strike throughout the early part of the morning session, and reached his ton in the 100th over of the innings, with an inside edge that went very fine to the boundary.

The captain and vice-captain put on 49, to take the score to 291 before McDonald swung at a wide delivery from David Harrison, and was caught by wicketkeeper Mark Wallace. The 192-ball innings with the lower order helped the Foxes towards a competitive total, but just short of the third batting point at 300.

Final batsman Harry Gurney fell two balls later to Harrison, who finished with figures of 4-71, while young paceman James Harris ended up with three wickets.

With cloudy overhead conditions, Leicestershire had the perfect opportunity to take early wickets in the swinging environment. The ball was moving all over the place for Hoggard, but at the other end Nathan Buck struggled with his line and length.

The introduction of Gurney to the attack proved a good decision when he removed Gareth Rees for 14, the first wicket falling at 41. The following over, Hoggard struck Mark Cosgrove on the pads with an inswinger, and he departed for 25.

Ben Wright was next to go, trapped on the crease and adjudged lbw to Gurney for 1, and Tom Maynard was the fourth man out when he was caught at gully by Jigar Naik.

With the innings in tatters, captain Jamie Dalrymple played safely to ensure his survival until lunch, as Glamorgan went back in to the pavilion at 67-4.

Hoggard took his third wicket of the innings with his first ball after the break, when former Leicestershire player Jim Allenby chased another swinging ball and was caught behind by a diving Tom New.

Jamie Dalrymple continued to dig in, but his vigil at the crease finally came to an end after a 72-ball 17, as McDonald’s excellent match continued with the ball, encouraging the former England one-day player to edge to Matthew Boyce at slip. The Dragons had collapsed to 88-6, losing six wickets for 37 runs, and in real danger of not making the follow-on marker.

Wallace and Harris tried their best to stem the flow of wickets, and they had put on 37 when the former played all around a looping delivery from spinner Naik and was clean bowler for 36. Claude Henderson was brought in to the attack as Harris hung around with Dean Cosker, eventually dismissing his fellow slow left-armer for 8.

Glamorgan passed the follow-on point, and reached tea at 166-8. However, they were all out less than two overs after the interval and without adding any more runs, as first, Henderson dismissed a slog sweeping Harrison lbw for 17, and Harris followed, becoming the fifth lbw victim of the innings, and Hoggard’s fourth wicket in the process.

He finished with figures of 4-32 from 14.1 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Henderson and Gurney, giving the Foxes a first innings lead of 125, and five bonus points to the Dragons three.

After a quiet start to Leicestershire’s second innings, chaos ensued as four wickets fell for nine runs in two manic overs.

Harrison first had Boyce caught on the crease, as a ball that kept low hit him bang on the pads, leading to yet another lbw. Five balls later, Paul Nixon was caught behind by Wallace.

Harris delivered the next over, where Tom New flicked a ball straight to Tom Maynard at square leg, and McDonald was given out lbw for a ball that was seemingly going over the top of the stumps.

James Taylor and Josh Cobb aimed to see the day out without losing another wicket. Taylor survived a late lbw appeal from Allenby, but Cobb became the 12th player to be dismissed that way later in the over, leaving the Foxes struggling at the close of play on 45-5.

The match is intriguingly poised as it approaches its third day, with either side capable of winning on a pitch that favours the bowlers.