Paul Nixon and Hylton Ackerman, Leicestershire captains new and old, joined forces to share a remarkable partnership of 213 in 46 overs after a prelunch struggle to 88 for five brought murmurs from the Grace Road faithful about a possible follow-on against Glamorgan. Ackerman, the man in charge two years ago, made 153 and Nixon, leading the county for the first time in a championship match, scored 126 off 154 balls, to confound the anxiety.
They hurtled beyond the technical target of 119 and four different balls were consigned to distant parts. Ackerman was dropped on 62 by Nicky Peng at point off Alex Wharf but regained concentration to score his 30th first-class hundred and eighth for Leicestershire. Nixon, England’s World Cup wicketkeeper, laced his seventeenth century with a trademark series of impudent reverse sweeps, but the last prompted his leg-before dismissal by Robert Croft.
This match testifies to contests between teams in the second division basement having their own special appeal. Just as Glamorgan rallied from 47 for three, so did Leicestershire from 37 for four after James Harris, the right-arm fast-medium bowler, had confirmed his rich promise by capturing three for one in 16 balls along the way to four for 83. In May, Harris, from Morriston, became, at 17 years and two days, the youngest bowler to take seven wickets in a championship innings.
Leicestershire were in quixotic mood until Ackerman and Nixon played the pragmatic and controlled strokes that a slow pitch demanded. Four wickets had tumbled to catches at or close to the wicket, including Marc Rosenberg, edging an intended pull in the final over before lunch. Arno Jacobs had perished down the leg side and Harris was on a hat-trick after James Allenby sliced a loose drive to second slip.
Croft, deputising as Glamorgan captain for David Hemp, who was absent for family reasons, had a taxing day attempting to stem the flow of runs. Ackerman, 34, is a familiar sight for Glamorgan after making 309 not out the highest individual score in Leicestershire’s history at Cardiff last July. In contrast, he had been dismissed six times for 23 or less in ten of his 14 previous innings this season.
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Leicestershire, next to bottom, need to duplicate his rising fortunes after failing to record a victory in eight matches this summer. Even Glamorgan, the team below them, beat Nottinghamshire.