Day Three

Rothesay County Championship - Day 2:  Leicestershire 244 and 156-3 trail Hampshire 214 and 363 by 177 runs

By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

A match that Leicestershire’s points deduction has turned into a Division One relegation decider for one or both of these sides sits intriguingly in the balance at Uptonsteel Grace Road, where Leicestershire will need 178 runs or Hampshire seven wickets on the final day after the home side, chasing 334 in their second innings, closed on 156 for three, after England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed was out for 55.

Earlier, Hampshire had been bowled out for 363 in their second innings, of which Nick Gubbins made 133. Ajaz Patel took four for 103 and Ian Holland three for 37 as Leicestershire’s most successful bowlers.

There is plenty at stake. A draw sends both counties down but, assuming a positive result, the losing side will be confirmed as relegated to Division Two with the winner taking a mathematical chance of survival into the final week of the Rothesay County Championship season, albeit tenuous in both cases.

After the hammer blow of the 27-point sub-standard pitch penalty announced on Wednesday evening, Leicestershire’s would depend not only on winning away to title contenders Warwickshire but in doing so taking 20 points more than Essex pick up from their trip to Glamorgan.

Hampshire’s task if successful here would be easier, if only marginally so, first requiring them to beat Sussex at home, and again assuming minor gains by Essex in Cardiff.  
Given the news overnight, with Leicestershire’s stay in Division One hanging by a thread after just one season, few spectators would have been surprised had Hampshire merely added to the punishment.

Yet competitive instincts reasserted themselves. Nightwatcher Manny Lumsden, leg before on the sweep, was the only casualty in the first 40 minutes, but once the new ball was available, things began to happen. Winning a place in Sunday’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup final line-up was another incentive.

Holland needed only six deliveries to make an impact as Gubbins, who had added just nine to his overnight 124, edged to second slip. Ben Green induced a leading edge to mid-on from Ben Brown and was unlucky not to find more success during a testing spell.

Tom Scriven found late movement to remove Joe Weatherley before Ajaz Patel struck twice with his left-arm spin, Ben Mayes edging to slip and Scott Currie hoicking to mid-on, giving the New Zealand international four wickets in a Leicestershire shirt for the first time.

When Holland had James Fuller palpably leg before, raising the Leicestershire’s captain tally to nine wickets in the match, Hampshire had lost their last six for 80 runs.

With time on their side, Leicestershire could afford to be risk averse and by tea had cut the target to 258 with 32 overs left in the day and potentially another 96 on Friday.

The one wicket to fall had been that of Rishi Patel, caught behind off  Currie’s lovely late away-swinger. Patel will be a Hampshire player next season, so this was his last innings on the ground in a Leicestershire shirt.

Hampshire’s second breakthrough came 10 overs after tea as Sheridon Gumbs, having built patiently to that point, launched Felix Organ’s off-spin for six over long off, but then reached for a ball that spun away from him and hit straight to short extra cover.

Rehan, whose eight fours included some lovely shots square or behind square on the off side, completed a half-century from 78 balls. He was dropped without addition, Lumsden not quite managing to hold on to a difficult chance square on the leg side, but had added only five more when Lumsden himself had him caught at slip. Bad light brought a close with six overs lost.

Day Two

Rothesay County Championship - Day 2:  Hampshire 214 and 255-3 lead Leicestershire 244 by 225 runs

By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Opener Nick Gubbins posted his first Rothesay County Championship hundred since April last year as Hampshire laid the foundations of a potentially winning lead in the battle of the bottom two in Division One at Uptonsteel Grace Road.

The 32-year-old left-hander is unbeaten on 124 as Hampshire closed the second day on 255 for three for a lead of 225 over Leicestershire, who had earlier been bowled out for 244 in their first innings.

A prohibitive 32 points from safety going into the penultimate round, Hampshire remain highly likely to drop into Division Two for the first time since 2014 but 19 points for winning here would at least keep their survival hopes mathematically alive until the last week of the season.

Defeat would be a body blow for next-to-bottom Leicestershire, for whom Hamza Shaikh and injury substitute Tom Scriven had made half-centuries in scratching out a 30-run first-innings advantage after Kyle Abbott’s four for 58.

Irrespective of any points deduction over the pitch for last month’s win over Glamorgan, it would leave last year’s Division Two champions needing to defeat title contenders Warwickshire at Edgbaston in their last game to have any chance of staying up.



Earlier in the day, Leicestershire had recovered from 148 for seven overnight, their last three first-innings wickets adding 96 more runs, which translated into a 30-run lead at the halfway stage.

Shaikh, on 50 overnight, carried the air of a batter who had missed an opportunity after he was dismissed by Manny Lumsden for 63, almost guiding the ball into the hands of second slip off the face of the bat, which presumably was not his intention.

He and Scriven, though, added 48 for the eighth wicket, with Scriven and Ajaz Patel (17 off 23 balls) combining to put on another 41 for the ninth, potentially vital runs in a low-scoring match. Scriven collected seven fours, his third half-century of the season and a second in consecutive innings coming off 70 deliveries.

Leicestershire now sought to frank their advantage with a repeat of the opening day’s clatter of wickets, yet as Hampshire’s openers successfully saw off the new ball it became clear that the generous help granted by the pitch on day one was no longer there.

Given how closely its behaviour was being scrutinised, Leicestershire might have had cause for relief at this, even if it was not exactly serving their immediate ambitions.

Ian Holland, who took four wickets in his first seven overs on the way to a career-best six for 38 on day one, was into the second over of his second spell before he made his first breakthrough this time, beating Felix Organ’s defensive bat for a leg before.

It ended a first-wicket partnership of 104 between Organ and Nick Gubbins that represented rare prosperity for Hampshire, whose supporters had not seen two openers put on a hundred stand since July last year.

Gubbins moved to fifty from 85 balls when he cut Holland for his seventh boundary as Hampshire went to tea on 142 for one.

With spin coming into play, Hampshire lost their second wicket 11 overs into the evening session as Toby Albert was bowled by a ball from left-armer Ajaz Patel that skidded on to his off stump.

Patel was close to bowling Gubbins with one that turned sharply out of the rough outside the left-hander’s off stump, but the former Middlesex man responded with back-to-back onside boundaries to go to his century from 190 balls with 13 fours - his first since being asked to open for Hampshire.

Hampshire lost Jake Lehmann in the penultimate over of the day as he feathered a catch behind off Patel but will enter day three firmly in control.

Day One

Rothesay County Championship: Leicestershire 148 for seven trail Hampshire 214 by 66 runs

By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Captains Ian Holland and Ben Brown delivered the stand-out performances, with ball largely dominating bat on a 17-wicket opening day as the penultimate round of the Rothesay County Championship saw Leicestershire finish 66 behind Hampshire with just four wickets still in hand in a battle of the relegation favourites.

Leicestershire captain Ian Holland took a career-best six for 38, supported by on-loan Nathan Gilchrist’s four for 54 as Hampshire were dismissed for 214, his opposite number Ben Brown making an unbeaten 80 on a seam-friendly pitch.

His efforts were supported by teenagers Ben Mayes (39) and Manny Lumsden (31), who helped Hampshire recover from a perilous 22 for four and 42 for five.

Hamza Shaikh is unbeaten on 50 as Leicestershire closed on 148 for seven in reply, with veteran seamer Kyle Abbott taking four for 41 to total 61 for the season as leading wicket-taker in the Championship.

Bottom of Division One with 32 points between them and safety, Hampshire are resigned to relegation. As things stand, Leicestershire still have a chance of escaping, trailing third-bottom Essex by eight points and seventh-placed Glamorgan by 11.

That could change, though, if the England and Wales Cricket Board decide to penalise Leicestershire with a points deduction over the pitch prepared for last month’s win over Glamorgan at Uptonsteel Grace Road. Leicestershire are still waiting for a verdict. 

Hampshire’s poor start to this match was mainly down to Holland’s excellence with the new ball, backing up his decision to bowl first by taking four for 19 in his opening eight-over spell.

The first three of those came in the space of six deliveries for no runs as late seam movement induced edges to second slip by Nick Gubbins and the prolific Jake Lehmann - his first duck of the season - in between which Toby Albert stepped across his stumps to be leg before.

Joe Weatherley became the third Hampshire batter to depart without scoring as Nathan Gilchrist beat his tentative prod, after which another edge to second slip off Holland put paid to Felix Organ.

Ben Green - playing his first cricket after a month out with injury - took a while to find his rhythm as Brown and Mayes both profited from playing outside the crease, particularly against the unfortunate Josh Davey, whose participation ended before tea with what looked like a damaged hamstring.

Tom Scriven has replaced him in the Leicestershire team as an injury substitute.

The sixth-wicket pair added 84 before 19-year-old Mayes, who had an escape on 26 just before lunch, fell into a trap clinically executed as ‘keeper Ben Cox, standing up as Holland sent down a legside delivery, pulled off a fine stumping to give the skipper his second five-wicket haul of the season.

Now it was the turn of Gilchrist, maintaining a persistent off-stump line, to strike three times in short order, removing Scott Currie and James Fuller caught behind and Abbott, taken at second slip.

Lumsden, a 17-year-old seamer of some potential who also looks somewhat better than a No 11 batter, aided Brown in adding 55 for the last wicket before chipping Holland to midwicket.

In reply, Leicestershire faced a similar struggle against Hampshire’s bowlers, led by the evergreen Abbott.

Neck and neck with Warwickshire’s Ethan Bamber in the race to be Division One’s leading wicket-taker, Abbott used the new ball effectively to bowl Sheridon Gumbs and have Rishi Patel caught at second slip in his opening six overs.

With seam movement again a factor, Currie had Rehan Ahmed edging to third slip. When a fine ball from Fuller had New Zealand international Nick Kelly caught behind, Leicestershire were 50 for four and matching Hampshire’s total was looking a tough challenge.

Currie had Cox caught at third slip, and Abbott struck for a third time as Holland was trapped in front. Shaikh, 20 and on loan from Warwickshire ahead of a permanent move, completed his maiden Championship half-century just as play closed with Green out to an ugly leg-side heave to give Abbott his fourth.