Sport News

Essex need record score for win

category: Cricket

23.05.2008 22:26

Essex will have to score the highest fourth-innings total in their history to beat Leicestershire in Division Two of the Championship at Chelmsford.

Set 445, by the close they had reached 69 for the loss of Tom Westley.

Leicestershire's HD Ackerman completed his century before falling for 112, but the Foxes went from an overnight 233-3 to post 449 in their second innings.

Paul Nixon (92 not out) and Claude Henderson (66) shared a stand of 136 as the Foxes frustrated Essex's attack.

Henderson laced his innings with several well-timed drives in his nine boundaries before Ravi Bopara had him caught by Danish Kaneria on the long-on boundary.

The remaining wickets, those of Dillon du Preez and Garnett Kruger quickly followed, leaving Nixon, who made 57 in the first innings, stranded eight short of his century.

Nixon gathered 10 boundaries, occasionally employing the audacious reverse sweep to make progress, in an innings spanning 138 deliveries.

Ten Doeschate finished with Championship-best figures of 5-58 from 19 overs while Bopara finished with 3-49.

When they set off in search of their mammoth target, Westley was caught behind by a du Preez delivery that lifted quickly sharply with only 19 on the board.

But Jason Gallian and Bopara survived without too much trouble until the close to leave Essex going into the final day requiring a further 376 to pull off what would be a famous victory.

Original text is here

  Add comment

Name:
E-Mail:
Comment:
Enter code: