Lees and Robinson heap extra distress on coach-less Leicestershire

Durham 422 for 4 (Robinson 113*, Lees 101) vs Leicestershire

Robinson, who completed unbeaten on 113, posted the third century of what’s turning into an impressive season following his transfer from Kent final winter, sharing an unbroken 221-run fifth-wicket stand with Graham Clark, who’s 15 away from 100 of his personal.

Wicketkeeper Robinson, who was finishing back-to-back centuries after his second-inning 102 in opposition to Glamorgan earlier this month, moved from fifty to 100 in simply 40 balls as a tiring dwelling bowling assault was made to undergo on a flat pitch.

Indeed, Parkinson and Ackermann wrote what will probably be a curious footnote to the day’s play by combining to dismiss Lees, concurrently providing their new aspect proof of their capability whereas putting an essential blow for his or her present one.

Having received the toss and invited Leicestershire’s bowlers to discover the Kookaburra experiment, Durham may solely have been extra glad with the opening session had Lees and Jones been nonetheless collectively at lunch.

As it was, they shared Durham’s greatest opening partnership of this season, earlier than Jones, already with 14 fours and a six to his identify and searching on target for a second century of the marketing campaign, mistimed a ball from Ed Barnes that he flicked tamely to brief mid-wicket, the place Ackermann took a superb catch.

The pitch had an inexpensive masking of grass, notably on a full size, but with a brief boundary to 1 aspect Lees and Jones flew out of the traps with such goal that, at 66 with out loss after eight overs, spectators might need had pause to marvel in the event that they had been watching T20 moderately than a four-day sport.

To their credit score, by lunch a house assault missing the injured Josh Hull and teenage leg spinner Rehan Ahmed – on England obligation – had managed to pull the speed again to a extra respectable three runs per over, with Jones the one casualty as Durham lunched on 150 for one. Parkinson’s left-arm spin was summoned as early because the eighth over, though the pitch would by no means supply him a lot assist.

Having snared the wicket of Jones simply earlier than lunch, Leicestershire made a second breakthrough quickly afterwards, seamer Tom Scriven discovering the sting as Durham skipper Scott Borthwick prodded at one outdoors off stump.Indeed, the center session was a greater one for the house aspect, who started the spherical only a level behind second-placed Sussex.

At tea, they’d Durham 263 for 4, nonetheless effectively positioned however 113 for 3 within the session. Sussex-bound Wright, taking part in in his fiftieth first-class match for Leicestershire, took his a hundred and sixtieth wicket in that point, reacting rapidly to seize a return catch in his follow-through as David Bedingham’s defensive push popped up.

And Parkinson, who had bowled eight overs with out success within the morning, dismissed Lees in the direction of the top of his second spell. The Durham left-hander in the end reached for a ball that turned simply sufficient to seek out the sting, Ackermann taking the catch low down at slip.

In energy-sapping situations, the ultimate session was laborious work for the bowlers; Clark hitting Ackermann’s off-spin for 3 consecutive fours earlier than a fourth took him to a 70-ball half-century, 24-year-old Robinson finishing his from 103 deliveries simply earlier than the second new ball turned out there.

Leicestershire took it, however the change served solely to extend the pace at which the ball flew off the bat, seven of the 11 boundaries in Robinson’s hundred coming within the house of eight overs with the brand new Kookaburra, the right-hander driving and slicing Barnes for back-to-back boundaries to achieve the milestone.