Daryl Mitchell and James Cameron led a spirited Worcestershire fightback to give their side an outside chance in a match that, at one point, Leicestershire looked likely to win within two days. The pair, who came together at 59 for 4 with Worcestershire still 75 adrift of making their opponents bat again, rode their luck on a pitch that always kept bowlers interested to add an unbroken stand of 109 in 35 overs.
Cameron, 24, a well-built left-hander who represented Zimbabwe Under-19s, hit two straight sixes off the spinners before reaching a maiden first-class fifty from 87 balls in his second appearance for the county. Leicestershire will be ruing the three occasions they dropped Mitchell in the slips, on five, 24 and 38 – once off Nathan Buck and twice off Nadeem Malik.
Buck had bowled a fine opening spell during which he took three wickets. He began by having the dangerous Phil Jaques caught at first slip for his third duck in championship cricket against Leicestershire this season; Moeen Ali pushed at a ball that left him to edge a regulation catch to the wicketkeeper; and Alex Kervezee was guilty of minimal foot movement when he lost his off stump to a beauty that straightened.
While Mitchell defended watchfully unfurling the occasional drive or cut to advance to a 103-ball fifty, Cameron, a British passport holder who was born in Harare, produced some big shots. Both his sixes, off Claude Henderson and Jigar Naik, cleared the boundary by a considerable distance, and he also drove powerfully through extra cover.
Leicestershire had chiselled out an invaluable lead of 134 thanks largely to Tom New’s plucky 73-ball 50. Smaller but useful contributions came from the two James, Taylor and Benning, both of whom were caught at first slip. Naik also hung around for nearly an hour while 36 were added.
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On a pitch where the ball nibbled around throughout the day, Worcestershire’s seam bowlers were nothing like consistent enough, Richard Jones conceding five runs an over and Jack Shantry four. Gareth Andrew chipped in with three tail-end wickets but at a cost, and only the niggardly Matt Mason was economical, probing away manfully to finish with three wickets.
Meanwhile, at Leicestershire’s Grace Road headquarters, all was not well as confirmation came that David Smith, the chief executive, had tendered his resignation with immediate effect. He stated that interference in team selection from the county’s board and its chairman, Neil Davidson, was the chief factor in his decision. Smith has been put on gardening leave, with Mike Siddall taking over as acting chief executive for the rest of the season.
Worcestershire: First Innings 175 (G M Andrew 53 not out)
Second Innings
*D K H Mitchell not out 63
P A Jaques c Du Toit b Buck 0
M M Ali c New b Buck 24
A N Kervezee b Buck 8
B F Smith c New b Malik 9
J G Cameron not out 62
Extras (w 2) 2
Total (4 wkts, 50 overs) 168
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-32, 3-40, 4-59.
Bowling: Hoggard 9-1-43-0; Buck 9-1-26-3; Malik 13-5-33-1; Henderson 12-3-28-0; Naik 4-0-34-0; Benning 3-0-4-0.
Leicestershire: First Innings (overnight 163-3)
J W A Taylor c Smith b Mason 27
N L Buck lbw b Mason 4
J G E Benning c Smith b Shantry 29
†T J New b Jones 58
J K Naik c Mitchell b Andrew 10
C W Henderson b Andrew 8
N M Malik not out 13
*M J Hoggard b Andrew 6
Extras (b 12, lb 10) 22
Total (79.2 overs) 309
Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-130, 3-150, 4-167, 5-202, 6-222, 7-258, 8-280, 9-294.
Bowling: Mason 25-9-56-3; Jones 19-0-96-2; Andrew 19.2-4-68-3; Shantry 11-0-42-1; Ali 5-1-25-1.
Umpires: J H Evans and N A Mallender.