County Championship: Somerset and Leicestershire draw amid record Foxes stand
- Published
Leicestershire batsmen Ed Barnes (left) and Harry Swindells both recorded career-best first-class scores at Taunton
LV= County Championship Group Two, The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day four): |
Somerset 461-9 dec: Conway 88, Van der Merwe 76, Davey 75*, De Lange 75; Griffiths 3-93 |
Leicestershire 475-7: Swindells 171*, Barnes 83*, Ackermann 67; De Lange 3-110 |
Somerset (15 pts) drew with Leicestershire (14 pts) |
Group Two leaders Somerset drew with Leicestershire following a rain-hit final day at Taunton.
It proved to be a fruitless morning for the home bowlers as Harry Swindells and Ed Barnes set a new record eighth-wicket partnership for the Foxes.
Swindells was 171 not out, with Barnes unbeaten on 83, as the visitors reached lunch on 475-7 - 14 runs ahead of Somerset's first innings score.
But rain set in during the afternoon, making further play impossible.
A draw had always looked the most likely result on the final day, with Leicestershire resuming 71 runs behind Somerset's 461-9 declared.
Somerset's bowlers toiled away without success on a placid pitch, with both Kasey Aldridge, a third-day replacement for Craig Overton, and Marchant de Lange eventually conceding more than 100 runs in the innings.
Swindells' and Barnes' unbeaten stand of 203 surpassed the 195 scored by James Taylor and Jigar Naik against Derbyshire in 2009. Both batsmen ended with career-best scores.
The draw moves Somerset to 134 points heading into their final Group Two match against Surrey and on the verge of qualifying for the top division in the second phase of this year's competition.
Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry:
"There is no doubt that if Craig Overton had been with us for the whole game, we would be looking at a different outcome.
"That's frustrating, but we fully understand the rationale behind England calling him up. But it provided a chance for young Kasey Aldridge, who bowled with absolutely no luck.
"We go into the final game top of the table. It promises to be a really exciting climax to the group stage when we take on Surrey next week."
Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon:
"Harry is a streetfighter and a workaholic. He has been so proactive in trying to improve his game and relishes a battle.
"Ed has had a tough time. We left him out for a while. Here he fought with his bowling action a bit in the breeze against some very good players before turning things around with the bat.
"Overall, we are delighted with how we played because we have done a lot of travelling lately and T20 can disrupt the sleep patterns of players."