Eckersley responds after Pietersen masterclass

Leicestershire 292 (Lewis 126, Raine 57, Dunn 4-72) and 310-5 (Eckersley 118) lead Surrey 557 (Pietersen 355, Raine 4-124) by 45 runs
Scorecard

Ned Eckersley hit a superb 118 as Leicestershire fought hard to avoid defeat against Surrey following Kevin Pietersen's epic 355 not out in the Second Division match at the Kia Oval.

Pietersen did not field before lunch, or for much of the day's last session, because he needed ice treatment on a slight calf strain, but he fielded throughout the afternoon session with Alec Stewart, Surrey's director of cricket, confirming that Pietersen "felt let down" by Strauss's comments at Lord's earlier in the day.

His remarkable innings meant an eventual Surrey total of 557 and a 265-run first innings lead, but by stumps on day three Leicestershire had worked hard to get themselves 45 runs in front at 310 for 5 in their second innings.

Eckersley struck a six and 17 fours in a fluent and attractive knock, dominating a second wicket stand of 161 with Angus Robson, who made 55 from 110 balls before becoming the first of three scalps for Zafar Ansari's left-arm spin.

Ansari and Gareth Batty, the Surrey spinners, chipped away at Leicestershire after Eckersley's tenth first-class hundred ended when he was beaten by Ansari's turn and edged to Jason Roy at slip.

Offspinner Batty then snared Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove, who also survived a stumping chance off Ansari on 14 but was caught at short leg by Rory Burns for 44 as he tried to flick away a ball to leg from a couple of paces down the pitch.

Leicestershire were still five runs short of making Surrey bat again when Neil Pinner, with whom Cosgrove had added 42, was leg-before to Ansari for 24 after resisting for 74 balls.

Niall O'Brien and Ben Raine battled hard until the close, however, seeing off the second new ball too as they added an unbroken 50 for the sixth wicket.

Earlier, Pietersen had been left just two runs short of Bobby Abel's 116-year-old record for the highest individual innings by a Surrey player, set against Somerset at the Oval in 1899, when last man Matt Dunn's brave resistance finally came to an end 4.5 overs into the third day.

Dunn, though scoring only five in 104 minutes, had stayed with Pietersen while a remarkable 139 runs were added for Surrey's final wicket. Pietersen's historic knock contained 15 sixes and 36 fours and occupied 396 balls.

It was the sixth highest score ever made in the County Championship and the seventh highest first-class innings made in England. It was also the highest first-class innings against Leicestershire, eclipsing Yorkshire legend George Hirst's 341 in 1905.

All eyes were on Pietersen, 326 not out overnight, when Surrey resumed on 528 for 9 in reply to Leicestershire's 292, especially as the resumption of his innings coincided with the announcement at Lord's, by newly-installed England director of cricket Andrew Strauss, that an international recall for Pietersen was "not in the short-term interests of the England team".

Twenty-nine runs were added to Surrey's overnight total, and all of them by Pietersen. There was a flipped four to fine leg, from a ball pitching outside off stump, a five when he tipped and ran for a short single to keep the strike and a run-out attempt ricocheted off the stumps to the boundary, a six slammed high over long off against Raine's fast-medium, and then a four launched over mid off to go to his 350.

When Dunn popped up a catch to short square leg off a lifting ball from Raine, every Leicestershire player ran to congratulate Pietersen on his magnificent seven-and-a-half hour innings. Pietersen, with 467 runs from five innings, now averages 233.50 in championship cricket this season.

Leicestershire's second innings began badly, with first innings century-make Lewis Hill leg-before to Dunn for a duck to the fifth ball of the opening over, but Eckersley and Robson both impressed in the big partnership which followed.