Legspinner enjoys successful day after Leicestershire made to follow on
Leicestershire xxx for x trail Hampshire 455 by xx runs
Hampshire took 14 wickets in the day as they closed in on a comprehensive innings victory in their opening LV=Insurance County Championship match against Leicestershire.
It took the visitors only 80 minutes to wrap up the Leicestershire first innings after the Foxes resumed on 151 for 4. The rout started with the second ball of the day, when non-striker Colin Ackermann, who had shared a partnership of 68 for the fourth wicket with Harry Swindells, was called through for a quick single and was well short of his ground when James Vince’s throw hit the stumps.
Swindells went on to make a career-best 59 but fell to legspinner Mason Crane, who found good turn to pick up 3 for 11 in his spell.
“We’d have taken 14 wickets at the start of the day and to be only two wickets away from victory is a nice feeling,” Crane said. “We stuck at it well. Any day you take six wickets is a good one and there was a bit of spin and bounce at times, though it was quite slow – I’d always settle for that in April. We’ve got the new ball now so hopefully we can get the job done.”
Leicestershire’s second innings followed a similar pattern, though Harry Dearden hit some fine off-side drives in going to 62 and Lewis Hill battled hard in making 65. But there was controversy in the dismissal of Hassan Azad, the opener being given out stumped off Liam Dawson when wicketkeeper Lewis McManus knocked off the bails with his left hand while the ball was in his right hand, which was raised in the air as he appealed for a catch.
Crane was again amongst the wickets, dismissing Dearden, Swindells and Ben Mike, but Leicestershire’s stubborn late resistance ensured play would go into a fourth day.
Swindells said: “We tried to battle but 50s and 60s don’t win you games, once you get in you’ve got to go big, like James Vince and Liam Dawson did for Hampshire, and that’s a lesson we have to learn. I feel comfortable batting in the top six, but you’ve got to get big runs to keep justifying that trust. Getting 200 in our first innings on that track was way below par, it’s a 350-400 track.”