Leicestershire dominate Day Two at Grace Road
A record-breaking partnership between Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Hill saw league-leading Leicestershire establish a dominant position at the end of the second day of the Rothesay county championship match against Lancashire.
Ahmed and Hill put on 256 for the third wicket, a championship-best for Leicestershire's third wicket against Lancashire.
Lancashire's bowlers stuck at their task, picking up seven wickets throughout the afternoon and evening sessions, but a half-century from all-rounder Ian Holland helped the Foxes close with an intimidating 251 run lead.
The two right-handers faced a real battle for the first hour, with Lancashire seamers Tom Bailey and George Balderson both beating the bat on several occasions. No chances were created however, the nearest either batsman coming to dismissal being when Ahmed called Hill through for a single that would have seen his team-mate back in the pavilion had Josh Bohannon's throw not missed the stumps by a whisker.
Hill's determination to be positive paid off however, notably when he walked down to the pitch to Will Williams and lofted the New Zealand-born seamer for the sweetest of straight sixes. Ahmed, while being impressively determined in defence, also began to unveil some characteristically flamboyant shots: both feet were off the ground when he flayed consecutive short deliveries from Anderson Phillip to the cover boundary before going to his 50 by whipping the same bowler through square leg.
Hill was keeping pace, reaching his 50 with a top edged cut that sailed high over the slips. If that was unorthodox, two perfectly timed on-drives had the purists purring.
Hill and Ahmed passed the County's championship record third wicket partnership against Lancashire before Ahmed was first to a hundred – his second against Lancashire in as many matches.
It came with a cut down to third man, his 14th four, and occupied 164 balls. Hill followed, his century coming off 150 deliveries and including 14 fours and the six, and both accelerated thereafter before Ahmed sliced at drive at the left-arm spin of Tom Hartley, giving Keaton Jennings a straightforward catch at short third man.
Hartley also picked up the wicket of Hill, caught behind cutting at a ball which bounced more than he expected, before captain Peter Handscomb edged an Anderson Phillip out-swinger to Jennings at second slip.
A partnership of 76 between Holland and Ben Cox pushed Leicestershire close to 400 before Holland, Logan van Beek and the tail steered the Foxes past 450.