Leach hits back before Worcs wobble

Worcestershire 249 for 8 (Cox 49) trail Leicestershire 316 (Horton 89, Robson 50, Dexter 50, Leach 5-99) by 67 runs
Scorecard

There has been much talk about the docility of the pitches in the Championship this season, but if all the world has gone one way, Leicestershire have determinedly gone another, and are surely to be commended for producing a lively track which is making for an absorbing battle between bat and ball.

On the first day of this match, Worcestershire bowled and indeed caught very poorly, allowing Leicestershire to reach 253 for 4. The bowlers held sway on Monday, however: first the visiting seamers hit line and length to take Leicestershire's six remaining wickets for just 63 runs, before they responded in kind, reducing Worcestershire to 249 for 8 by the close.

Joe Leach's figures tell the story. Having been sitting on 0 for 82 at the start of play, the bustling Worcestershire seamer finished with 5 for 99. Mark Pettini edged an outswinger to third slip, the left-handed Niall O'Brien went leg-before on the front foot to an inswinger, Aadil Ali and Clint Mckay edged outswingers to wicketkeeper and slip respectively, and then Ben Raine, eyeing Charlie Shreck at the other end, tried to force the pace and edged another Leach delivery on to his middle stump.

Leicestershire should have made an immediate breakthrough of their own, but Neil Dexter, fielding at third slip, dropped Brett D'Oliveira twice, once before he had scored, and once on 3. In the circumstances the South African probably felt he owed his team-mates a wicket or two, and duly made the first breakthrough for the Foxes, trapping Daryl Mitchell leg before on the back foot to a delivery which seamed back.

Joe Clarke hit three sweetly timed driven fours before being drawn into fencing at a Shreck outswinger, before D'Oliveira, having grafted his way to 47, could not keep out a Dexter delivery which seamed back in, took the back pad, and clipped his leg stump.

Alex Kervezee never settled before going back to a Clint McKay delivery which stayed low and there was a talk of the follow-on when Ross Whiteley left a Shreck delivery which swung back in and clipped the top of off stump.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Ben Cox eliminated that danger with a stand of 77, but as the ball got older and softer it began to stay increasingly low. Kohler-Cadmore and Cox were dismissed with consecutive deliveries, by Raine and McKay - Cox with a ball that did not get up - and Leach missed a heave across the line, but Matt Henry hit out to good effect before play closed shortly after 7pm.