[ad_1]
Yorkshire moved a step closer to securing promotion after completing a three-day victory over Leicestershire despite more time lost to the weather.
The home side, who had trailed by 281 on first innings after being dismissed for 98, were bowled out for 209 second time around as all-rounder George Hill played a starring role.
The 23-year-old seamer took the last half dozen wickets to fall for season’s-best figures of 6-59, handing Yorkshire victory by an innings and 72 runs, their fourth in five matches.
It lifts Yorkshire to second in Division Two, where they will remain with two games left if Middlesex fail to beat Gloucestershire at Lord’s.
Rehan Ahmed celebrated his England recall with a well-crafted 77 from 86 balls but Ajinkya Rahane could make only 32 and, with Peter Handscomb having returned to Australia, Leicestershire were unable to force Yorkshire to bat a second time.
After more than half of day two was lost to the weather, rain restricted the opening session of day three to 14 overs, during which Leicestershire, who had been 35-2 overnight, advanced to 90-3, still 191 runs away from making Yorkshire bat again.
Matthew Fisher drew first blood as Lewis Hill was caught low down at second slip.
Ahmed was dropped at first slip on 13 off Jordan Thompson shortly before the first of the day’s stoppages but looked in good touch nonetheless and he and Rahane had added 50 in as many minutes when the England player crashed Ben Coad square on the off side for his seventh boundary.
He lofted Coad over long-on for six and brought up his half-century from 47 balls, but if the division’s current leading wicket-taker was beginning to suffer any frustrations they were abated in an instant when Rahane bottom-edged him into his own stumps.
At 131-4, Leicestershire were still 150 in arrears and it was Hill who delivered the decisive spell of the day after replacing Fisher in the attack just before Rahane’s dismissal.
He found enough movement to remove Louis Kimber and Ben Cox leg before and, then Ahmed, responding to being belted back down the ground for six by finding the outside edge, Adam Lyth taking the catch at second slip.
Hill’s spell continued after the interval and he soon accounted for Tom Scriven, also leg before, before clipping Scott Currie’s off stump with another fine delivery, giving him the second five-wicket haul of his career.
As dark clouds rolled in, Hill spared his team-mates the prospect of coming back On Thursday as last man Chris Wright skied one and Fisher ran round from mid-off to take the catch.
Source link
