Foxes wrap up victory

Harris: Season best return

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LV County Championship - Division Two
Grace Road - Day three

Middlesex 159 (D J Malan 67 no, I E O'Brien 6-39) & 91 (A J Harris 4-24) v Leicestershire 244 (J J Cobb 95, T J Murtagh 4-70, S T Finn 4-76) & 10-2
Leicestershire (18pts) beat Middlesex (3pts) by 8 wkts

Leicestershire took little more than an hour to wrap up their first victory of the championship season, defeating Middlesex by eight wickets.

The visitors were eventually bowled out for just 91 after resuming on 76 for six, leaving the Foxes just seven runs for victory.

It was Middlesex's lowest score of the season, and they replaced Leicestershire at the foot of the table after collecting only three points from the game.

They needed firm resistance if they were to set the hosts any kind of target but it wasn't to be as they lost the last four wickets for the addition of 15 runs.

Gareth Berg was the first to go, brilliantly caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Tom New off the bowling of Iain O'Brien, and Shaun Udal quickly followed to another fine catch by New, this time off AJ Harris.

A straight drive to the boundary by Tim Murtagh off O'Brien ensured that Leicestershire would have to bat again, but he was then out edging a straight-forward catch to slip off Harris, who finished with a season's best four for 24.

And at 91, the innings closed with Steve Finn lbw to O'Brien, who finished with three for 29 to give him match figures of nine for 68.

It left Leicestershire with only seven runs for victory, but they lost Josh Cobb, who edged a catch off Finn, and Matt Boyce, bowled by Murtagh, before Boeta Dippenaar struck four runs off Finn to clinch victory.

Day Two

Leicestershire are eyeing a first Championship victory of the season after a Middlesex batting collapse put them into a fine position at the end of day two at Grace Road.

The bottom-of-the-table side made 244 in their first innings thanks to a season-best 95 from young opener Josh Cobb, giving them an 85-run advantage.

And - with Australian bowler James Allenby claiming two late wickets for just one run in three overs - Middlesex did little in their second innings to suggest they could recover, finishing the day on 76 for six as bad light brought an early end to proceedings.

Early-morning rain delayed the start by an hour as Leicestershire resumed on 137 for six, and then George Walker was out to the third ball of the morning, caught at gully off the bowling of Murtagh.

Another rain delay followed, and play did not resume until the afternoon. Murtagh then struck to claim the wicket of Iain O'Brien, who was lbw to end a partnership of 50 in 10 overs with Cobb.

And having made 95 in excellent style, Cobb followed as he attempted to hit Tim Murtagh for a straight six, only to present a catch to Billy Godleman running around from mid-off.

The last-wicket pair of AJ Harris and Harry Gurney added another 49 before Gareth Berg bowled Harris, leaving Gurney with an unbeaten career-best 24.

It was a handy lead of 85 for Leicestershire, and Middlesex, having been dismissed for 159 first time around, were soon in trouble again as O'Brien bowled Nick Compton with a superb yorker in the third over.

Godleman, Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan soon followed, leaving Middlesex in disarray at 50 for four.

And their plight became even worse with Allenby's two late strikes that accounted for Dawid Malan and David Nash to put Leicestershire in total command with two days remaining.

Day one

New Zealand seamer Iain O'Brien claimed figures of six for 39 as Leicestershire ended the opening day of their second division match with Middlesex on top.

However, only the presence of teenage batsman Josh Cobb ensured the Foxes maintained their grip on the match after the hosts stuttered to 137 for six after rolling over their opponents for just 159.

Middlesex had no hesitation in batting first but did not account for variable bounce and O'Brien picked up two wickets in his opening eight over spell, 12 of the 19 runs he conceded coming from the bat of Owais Shah.

He got Nick Compton with a yorker before gaining revenge on Shah, knocking back his off stump before James Allenby removed opener Billy Godleman lbw to leave the visitors reeling on 37 for three.

O'Brien came back for a short burst before lunch and he removed Eoin Morgan, who edged to Allenby at slip having made 30.

And the wickets continued to fall regularly after lunch despite a defiant half-century from Dawid Malan, as the insatiable O'Brien continued to devour the batting line-up.

He trapped Gareth Berg lbw with a ball that skidded through and then uprooted Shaun Udal's middle stump before surprisingly being taken out of the attack.

Harry Gurney nipped in for the wickets of Murali Kartik and Tim Murtagh before O'Brien returned to have Steven Finn lbw, leaving Malan unbeaten on 67 off 74 balls with nine boundaries.

Leicestershire had the chance to drive home their advantage but failed miserably to do so, crashing to 53 for five before Cobb finally found a willing partner in Tom New.

Finn ripped through their top order in a lively 10 over spell that brought him four of the first five wickets with Cobb watching on at the other end.

The 19-year-old came into the match on the back of a double hundred for England U19s against Bangladesh and he continued in similar vein, reaching fifty off 74 balls with seven fours and two maximums.

He and New stopped the rot, adding 73 in 28 overs for the sixth wicket before Udal had the wicketkeeper caught off bat and pad.

New's dismissal meant 16 wickets had fallen in the day for a total of 296 runs.