Leicestershire 164 for 5 (Harris 56, Hill 3-25)) vs Yorkshire
Heavy overnight rain meant a wet outfield and a delayed start until 3.40pm, with Division Two title favourites Yorkshire opting to bowl upon winning the toss.
The Foxes, led by fringe Test left-hander Harris, started brightly as they reached 89 for 1. But skilful Hill set about changing the course of proceedings and left the close of play score at 164 for 5 from 46 overs. Hill finished the day with three for 25 from nine overs, while Matt Milnes and left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty also struck.
Harris was supported by two highly-rated young English talents in Rishi Patel and Louis Kimber, who made 19 and 24 respectively to give Leicestershire an early advantage. England’s Rehan Ahmed later hit a counter-attacking 28 off 22 balls with six fours before falling LBW to Moriarty.
Milnes claimed the first wicket to fall, uprooting Patel’s off-stump with a beauty of a delivery, before fellow seamer Hill had Kimber, Harris and Lewis Hill all caught in the slips. While the outfield was damp, and caused umpires Mark Newell and Jack Shantry concerns during the first half of the day, the pitch played nicely – as it generally does at this ground.
Batting against the Kookaburra ball is clearly less of a threat than the Dukes, the former in operation for the first two rounds of this season’s competition. And whilst a strong wind hopefully dried out the outfield, it did challenge the bowlers.
Patel, an England Lions tourist before Christmas, and Harris made a solid start, sharing 43 inside 14 overs for the first wicket. Both were strong each side of the wicket, driving particularly handsomely, though Patel’s stay was cut short in the late teens just as he was looking set.
Milnes broke the partnership with a nip-backer which uprooted off-stump – as aesthetically pleasing a first wicket of the season as you will see.
Yorkshire are no strangers to the quality of Harris and Patel. Patel scored a match-winning century in the second innings of last season’s opening round clash on this ground, and Harris had scored two centuries in three previous innings against them. One of those came for the Foxes in 50-over cricket and the other for Gloucestershire in the Championship.
Harris survived a run out scare shortly afterwards on 23 when Milnes missed with a shy at the striker’s stumps from the gully region, but he went on to reach his fifty off 93 balls with his 11th and penultimate boundary. By this time, the Foxes were 105 for 2 in the 31st over.
Harris had lost second-wicket partner Kimber caught low down at third slip by Fin Bean, and he was on his way himself five balls after raising his bat. Hill undid him with extra bounce, and England star Harry Brook held on to a comfortable catch at first slip.
Leicestershire’s 110 for 3 in the 32nd over became 115 for 4 in the 34th when Lewis Hill pushed forward and edged namesake George to second slip.
Yorkshire had now wrestled the advantage from their visitors, and they cemented it when Moriarty trapped Ahmed lbw playing back in just his second over – 159 for five in the 44th.
But it is not yet a clearcut one with Australian Peter Handscomb unbeaten on 20.