Ton-up Swindells cashes in on Somerset’s weakened attack
HARRY Swindells hit a career-best 119 not out as Leicestershire frustrated a depleted Somerset bowling attack on the third day of the LV= County Championship match at Taunton.
Setting out on 95-3 in reply to 461, the visitors posted 390-7, as 22-year-old Swindells led the way with his second first-class century.
Skipper Colin Ackerman contributed 67, Ben Mike 40 and Ed Barnes a career-best 54 not out before bad light ended play 15 overs early.
The day began with news that Craig Overton, captaining Somerset in a championship match for the first time, had been called into the revised England squad for the one-day series against Pakistan.
His place in the game was taken by 20-year-old debutant Kasey Aldridge, a tall seamer and middleorder batsman, while James Hildreth assumed the role of skipper.
Ackermann and Josh Inglis resumed their fourth-wicket stand
at the start of play, taking it to 57 before Inglis, on 27, fell lbw padding-up to Jack Brooks with the total on 117.
With Josh Davey nursing a sore toe, Somerset were without two frontline seamers. Ackermann took advantage with a series of classy strokes as he and Swindells built confidently until rain brought an early lunch at 12.55pm.
The Leicestershire captain had faced 160 balls and hit 10 fours when de Lange bowled him between bat and pad soon after the resumption to make it 177-4.
Somerset took the second new ball with the total on 207, with
Aldridge and Brooks both beating the bat regularly without finding an edge.
Swindells went to fifty off 120 balls, receiving good support from Mike in a stand of 79. Mike had hit seven boundaries when he drove at de Lange and fell to a catch at first slip. Callum Parkinson helped Swindells add a further 16 before being taken at third slip, fending at a steeply rising delivery from de Lange. By tea, Leicestershire had moved to 290-7, just 22 short of avoiding the follow-on.
Swindells’ impressive knock continued with a cut four off Brooks to take his team past the follow-on figure and another boundary through the covers off de Lange to bring up his hundred off 186 balls, with 15 fours.
A Barnes boundary off the final ball of the
110th over took Leicestershire to
350 and a fourth batting point, while Somerset had to settle for two bowling points.
Barnes went to a maiden first class half-century off 65 balls, his 11th four also bringing up a century stand with Swindells.