Harry Gurney leads sprited Leicestershire CCC fightback against Surrey

Leicestershire fought their way back into their Championship game against Surrey at Grace Road yesterday thanks to a series of high-class displays with bat and ball.

Young seamer Harry Gurney paved the way with his first five-wicket haul in the first-class game as Surrey were dismissed for 329, a first-innings lead of 164.

County followed up with a much more assured batting display than they had managed in their first dig and by the close they had wiped out the arrears, closing on 181-2.

That gave them a lead of 17 to take into the final day and, as slender as that might be, it saw them close day three in a considerably better position than their supporters might have thought was possible at the start of play.

At that point Surrey were on 217-2 and seemingly set to build a daunting lead, particularly with Michael Brown unbeaten on 82. Brown completed his century but that was about the only bright spot of the day for the visitors as the County bowlers set about the task of not only keeping runs down, but also taking wickets.

The morning could hardly have gone better for Leicestershire. Despite a finger injury putting slow left-armer Claude Henderson out of the attack, their seamers wasted little time in unsettling Surrey, AJ Harris striking the first blow in only the fourth over of the morning when Mark Butcher flicked a catch to mid-wicket.

Jim Allenby then trapped Usman Afzaal and Jonathan Batty lbw in the 100th over and. when Brown's vigil ended on 101 as he miscued a pull off Gurney, Surrey had lost three wickets in eight deliveries to slump to 282-6. Leicestershire, and Gurney in particular, did not let them off the hook and by lunch they had reduced their rivals to 317-9.

The immediate issue after the break was whether Gurney, who had bowled with good pace and control, could complete his first five-for.

He duly obliged when Stewart Meaker edged through to Tom New, giving the County keeper his fourth catch of the innings and leaving Gurney with figures of 5-82.

That was only part of the task completed. If they were to continue the fightback, Leicestershire had to bat with a good deal more solidity than in the first innings.

Matthew Boyce and Josh Cobb set the tone perfectly and they put 67 on the board before Boyce was leg-before attempting to sweep off-spinner Murtaza Hussain for 29.

Cobb played with a good deal more caution than he had shown first time round and he made a polished 40 before a good piece of bowling from Hussain, drawing the teenager forward, induced an edge to first slip.

Skipper Boeta Dippenaar had played himself in by then and he and HD Ackerman saw County to the close from 90-2. Ackerman had one escape, missed at second slip off the bowling of Jade Dernbach when he had just eight to his name.

At stumps, though, the South Africans each had 50 in the bank. Ackerman got there first having struck eight fours, Dippenaar hitting six boundaries and a six in a watchful stay of 147 balls.

The pair complemented each other perfectly and enabled Leicestershire to round off a day that they had won hands down. That has been the case on too few occasions so far this season but yesterday was clear evidence of how effective Leicestershire can be when all areas of their game are in good order.