Tom Scriven, Rishi Patel put Leicestershire in field seat in opposition to Gloucestershire
Leicestershire 103 for two (Patel 60*) path Gloucestershire 159 (Dent 50, Scriven 4-30)
Leicestershire’s bid to win promotion within the LV=Insurance County Championship to go together with their first one-day last for 22 years began impressively as they returned to red-ball motion on the Uptonsteel County Ground.
Gloucestershire, the facet they bowled out for 125 right here final Tuesday to clinch their place within the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last, fared scarcely higher, dismissed for 159 by Leicestershire’s seam assault regardless of Chris Dent’s half-century.
Tom Scriven, with a career-best 4 for 30, and veteran Chris Wright (3 for 30) exploited a inexperienced pitch, with a lot of the harm carried out between lunch and tea as Gloucestershire collapsed from 77 for 1.
In reply, in opposition to a visiting assault missing three of their high 4 wicket-takers, Leicestershire had been 103 for two of their first innings on the shut, with opener Rishi Patel closing in on 1000 first-class runs in a season for the primary time in his profession, on 60 not out.
Leicestershire, who’ve a sport in hand however most likely want a victory on this match to face a sensible likelihood of going up alongside runaway Division Two leaders Durham, had two gamers making their county debuts in wicketkeeper Ben Cox, who has joined initially on mortgage from Worcestershire, and 33-year-old Pakistan worldwide batter Umar Amin, signed for the final 4 matches of the season rather than Peter Handscomb, who has returned to Australia.
Bowl first seemed the apparent alternative for whoever gained the toss however within the occasion it was the losers, Gloucestershire, who had the higher of the opening morning, going to lunch at 73 for 1.
Leicestershire would possibly argue that they had been unfortunate with the balls that did whistle previous the sting, whereas the guests benefited disproportionately from the final two overs of Wiaan Mulder’s opening spell as Ben Charlesworth picked up three fours from every, albeit a pair by means of third man and one other off an inside edge previous off stump. Yet one wicket was actually fewer than house skipper Lewis Hill would have hoped for.
It was claimed by Scriven, who took over from Mulder on the Pavilion End and conceded solely three runs in seven overs. In the midst of that was a superb supply that beat Charlesworth’s inside edge and clipped the off bail.
Mulder – 0 for 35 from 5 overs first up – had a way more efficient second spell, 2 for 7 from 9, both facet of lunch, with each wickets coming after a change of ball instantly after the interval. The South African allrounder bowled Ollie Price previous a defensive bat and beat Miles Hammond, one other of Gloucestershire’s predominant left-handers, with a fullish ball into the entrance pad.
Those wickets arrange Leicestershire for a way more productive afternoon. Dent accomplished a 138-ball half century with a pleasant shot by means of the covers off Scriven for his seventh boundary solely to fall leg earlier than to the identical bowler with out addition.
Wright, in his 2 hundredth first-class match, picked up his 577th wicket by means of a misjudgement by James Bracey, who was bowled shouldering arms earlier than Zafar Gohar grew to become a primary sufferer behind the stumps for Cox, giving Scriven his third success.
Josh Shaw was dropped at first slip on 1 off Matt Salisbury however added solely seven earlier than he grew to become a debut lbw sufferer for Amin, leaving Gloucestershire 145 for 7 at tea.
Amin, who bowls medium tempo off a 5 or six-step run-up, has not performed worldwide cricket for 5 years and no first-class cricket since November final 12 months, but is a well-recognized determine to some within the Leicestershire dressing room. He has spent this summer season taking part in for Cavaliers and Carrington within the Nottinghamshire Premier League – alongside Leicestershire allrounder Rehan Ahmed and interim head coach Alfonso Thomas.
Half a dozen overs after tea, Gloucestershire had been all out. Harry Tector, on Championship debut for the county, was leg earlier than attempting to work to leg off Wright, who then had Zaman Akhter caught at second slip off the shoulder of the bat. Luke Charlesworth – youthful brother of Ben – lasted 5 balls on his first-class debut, falling leg earlier than pushing ahead as Scriven claimed his fourth wicket.
It left Leicestershire to face 24 overs earlier than the shut. They rapidly misplaced the recalled Sol Budinger, bowled by means of the gate by Shaw, earlier than Hill edged Dom Goodman to gully for 21, however Patel, unfazed by giving what seemed like a half-chance to level on 46 off Akhter, went previous fifty for the seventh time this season to take his first-class mixture to 950.