Van Beek leads Leicestershire victory bid against Glamorgan

Logan van Beek reaches his half century for Leicestershire

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester (day three)

Glamorgan 353: Tribe 107 & 131-3: Northeast 72*; Van Beek 2-24

Leicestershire 576-7 dec: Budinger 118, Ahmed 106, Patel 70, Hill 70, Van Beek 67*, B Green 58*

Glamorgan (5 pts) trail Leicestershire (8 pts) by 92 runs with seven second-innings wickets standing

Match scorecard

Division Two leaders Leicestershire are well placed for a sixth win in eight games after a dominant all-round performance against Glamorgan.

The visitors go into the final day on 131-3 in their second innings, still 92 runs behind.

Logan Van Beek claimed two quick wickets after earlier hitting 67 not out.

But Sam Northeast (72 not out) and Colin Ingram (37 not out) provided belated resistance as they batted calmly through the final session

Leicestershire declared on 576-7 after a stand of 123 between Van Beek and Ben Green, with six of the nine Foxes batters passing the 50 mark.

Leicestershire began day three on 389-3 but the new ball was available in the second over, with James Harris and Timm van der Gugten quickly getting rid of night-watchman Chris Wright for 19 and Lewis Hill for 70, both caught at slip by Colin Ingram.

After the pyrotechnics of the Foxes' batters the previous day, Glamorgan kept better control with Ned Leonard claiming the wickets of Peter Handscomb (22) and Liam Trevaskis (25) although the home side still collected maximum bonus points with ease.

All-rounders Van Beek and Green pushed on after lunch to turn the screw on the toiling visitors with the field spread far and wide, before the mid-afternoon declaration came slightly earlier than seemed likely.

First innings centurion Asa Tribe was unable to open because of illness and Glamorgan were quickly in trouble in their second knock.

Van Beek bowled both Zain Ul Hassan for four, beating him for pace, and then Tribe's stand-in Mason Crane, playing on for 12.

With Tom Scriven quickly having Kiran Carlson caught behind at 36-3, Leicestershire took tea in high spirits.

Northeast was dropped at slip on 20 off Wright as he and Ingram attempted to drop anchor and halt the slide.

They got through the dangerous early stages of the Kookaburra ball and brought some welcome serenity to the Glamorgan dressing-room.

Northeast reached his 50 off 86 balls but inside-edged a ball from Tom Scriven just past his stumps on 60.

With Ingram also keeping most of his shots in the locker, a wicket-less final session gave Glamorgan some hope of survival.

LLeicestershire's Ben Green told BBC Radio Leicester:

" Wickets fell again first thing, maybe there's a bit of moisture in the pitch during the first hour, but after that it flattens out.

"It was good to be out there batting with my golf partner Logan, it was always the plan to declare when we did, giving us the maximum number of overs to try and take ten wickets.

"Then picking up three quick wickets, we couldn't have asked for more than that- we'd have probably settled for three before the end of the day to be honest.

"It's a very attritional wicket, and the Kookaburra makes it a tough slog for the bowlers, but we were creating chances towards the end. If we have to chase a target, we'll try and do that."

Glamorgan's Ned Leonard told BBC Sport Wales:

"The Kookaburra ball suits my bowling style, looking to slam it into the wicket, and we bowled nicely all morning.

"It flattens out pretty quickly the older the ball gets, Ben and Logan batted nicely, and the outfield is rapid.

"Sam scored 400 here (in 2022), so he knows what he's doing at this ground and Colin has played for a long time, they're both unbelievable players so hopefully we can carry on and put runs on the board.

"We've every chance of getting the draw, Sam and Colin are set in and we've got a long batting line-up. Asa batted brilliantly in the first innings, he's had a couple of tough days (with illness) but he'll come back fighting I'm sure."