Porter hits maiden 50 for Essex against Leicestershire

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford (day two)

Leicestershire 333: Budinger 89, Weatherald 61, Eskinazi 50; Snater 3-59

Essex 281-8: Alliosn 72, Mulder 70*, Porter 52; Mike 3-74

Essex (5 pts) trail Leicestershire (4 pts) by 52 with two wickets standing

Match scorecard

Jamie Porter spared the embarrassment of some of Essex's more senior batsmen with a maiden first-class half-century to prevent Leicestershire establishing a big lead in the County Championship match at Chelmsford.

The 32-year-old seamer, whose batting CV is littered with noughts, batted with a hitherto unsuspected assurance on extended nightwatchman duty for 52 invaluable runs as Essex initially floundered on a green wicket.

Porter, who shared an 81-run last-wicket stand with Simon Harmer last week against Hampshire, put on 96 in 25 overs for the fifth wicket with Charlie Allison after Essex capsized to 39-4 in reply to Leicestershire's first-innings 333.

Allison chipped in with 72 from 103 balls before Wiaan Mulder's unbeaten 70 under the floodlights, but too many Essex players were out to poor shots as Ben Mike was their chief tormentor with 3-74.

Essex had reduced Leicestershire's lead to 52 on 281-8, with Mulder and Harmer's ninth-wicket partnership worth 74, when bad light just after five o'clock rendered it unsafe for the new ball to be taken.

The big surprise of the day was that Essex's first wicket of the morning was not that of their second nightwatchman but experienced opener Dean Elgar, caught at mid-off driving loosely at Ben Green.

Three overs later, in an inexplicable rush of blood unsuited to the situation, Paul Walter slashed wildly to first slip off Ian Holland.

From 25-3, Tom Westley dug in for more than half-an-hour, facing 30 balls for two runs, before he was strangled down legside by Mike.

Porter was less inhibited and hit Green for a gloriously elegant off-drive past the bowler for one boundary and followed it with another carved over backward point's head.

He passed his previous highest score of 34 – against Glamorgan in Cardiff 11 summers ago – when he drove Hull crisply through the covers for his fifth boundary.

At the other end, Allison was quietly going about his business, accumulating runs in a steady, untroubled rhythm.

He reached his 50 from 76 balls by thrashing Green through the covers for a sixth four. And it was not long before Porter was raising his bat on an unprecedented milestone after turning Mike into the covers from the 108th ball he faced.

It was only when Mike finally bowled one at the stumps that Porter's defences were breached after 117 balls and he walked off, head held high, to a standing ovation.

Mike struck again in his next over, taking a return catch at midriff-height to remove Matt Critchley and Allison followed when Hull found the edge of his bat.

Michael Pepper helped Mulder take Essex through the follow-on barrier before he got into a tangle against Ajaz Patel and was judged lbw.

Mulder, accelerated through the gears, pulling Mike for his fifth four to reach fifty and take Essex to a batting point that had looked beyond them at 143-6.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

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