da bet nacional： Jon Dakin was Leicestershire’s all-round star on a third day of twists andturns at Old Trafford
Andy Wilson08-Jun-2001Jon Dakin was Leicestershire’s all-round star on a third day of twists andturns at Old Trafford.The 28-year-old all-rounder took season’s best figures of four for 53 asLancashire slumped from 264 for five to 292 all out, and a first inningslead of only 90.Then, after Muttiah Muralitharan and Peter Martin had each taken threewickets to reduce Leicestershire to 156 for six in their second innings,Dakin joined the patient Darren Maddy to hit 31 in an unbroken seventhwicket stand of 52 which gives them a lead of 118 going into the last day.The day had started with Neil Fairbrother completing his second century ofthe season and his third in as many games against Leicestershire.He reached three figures off 161 balls with a six and 13 fours, the last asquare cut off Dakin. But Fairbrother lost his off stump to Dakin’s nextball and although Warren Hegg, who had shared a sixth-wicket stand of 85,also completed an 80-ball half-century, Dakin’s spell dragged the visitorsback into the match.Muralitharan then undermined that work by sending back both Leicesteropeners before they had wiped off the deficit, bowling Trevor Ward andtrapping Iain Sutcliffe lbw to leave them 61 for two.Ben Smith and Daniel Marsh steadied the ship with a third-wicket stand of65 but then Smith went lbw to Murali and Martin bowled a super spell fromthe Warwick Road End to put Leicester on the back foot again. He had Marsh caught at cover, Vince Wells lbw and Neil Burns caught behind.But Maddy, who had batted 202 minutes for an unbeaten 57 in the firstinnings, grafted on and Dakin then collected three consecutive boundariesoff Andy Flintoff to revive Leicestershire’s hopes of completing aChampionship double over their hosts.