County Championship: Rory Burns & Mark Stoneman lead Surrey fightback against Leicestershire
- Published
Current and former England openers Rory Burns and Mark Stoneman have put on unbeaten 146 for the first wicket
LV= County Championship Group Two, Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester (day two): |
Leicestershire 496: Evans 112, Swindells 103, Harris 101; Virdi 6-171 |
Surrey 146-0: Burns 74*, Stoneman 59* |
Surrey (2 pts) trail Leicestershire (4 pts) by 350 runs with 10 wickets remaining |
England opener Rory Burns made his fourth half-century in seven innings this season as Surrey reached 146 without loss in reply to Leicestershire's daunting total of 496.
Burns finished day two unbeaten on 74, making the most of a flat pitch to pass 10,000 career first-class runs.
Earlier, 22-year-old wicketkeeper Harry Swindells scored his maiden first-class ton for Leicestershire.
Spinner Amar Virdi was the pick of the Surrey bowlers, finishing with 6-171.
Swindells, who hit 13 fours in reaching his hundred off 148 deliveries, became the third centurion of Leicestershire's first innings.
It was touch and go whether he would reach triple figures as Virdi picked up two wickets in two balls to leave the Foxes nine down with Swindells still on 95.
But last man Alex Evans managed to see off the hat-trick ball before Leicester-born Swindells turned a delivery from Jamie Overton down to the fine-leg boundary to bring up his hundred.
Neither Burns nor opening partner Mark Stoneman gave the bowlers a chance in reply as they played through 45 overs, Stoneman (59no) joining Burns in reaching a half-century before the close of play.