County Championship: Leicestershire build big first-innings lead over Lancashire

The partnership between Hill and Ahmed, not out overnight on 29 and 26 respectively, was all the more admirable for the bowler-friendly conditions at the start of play after overnight rain and with heavy cloud cover.

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 times.

But no chances were created, with the nearest either batter coming to dismissal being when Josh Bohannon’s throw almost ran out Hill.

Hill’s determination to be positive paid off, 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 kept pace, reaching his 50 with a top-edged cut which sailed high over the slips before two perfectly timed on-drives. By lunch 130 runs had been added and the Lancashire attack was looking understandably deflated.

They looked even more so an hour into the afternoon session, when Hill and Ahmed cut loose.

They passed the county’s championship record third-wicket partnership against Lancashire of 163, compiled by Walter Bradshaw and Norman Armstrong in 1929, and then the first-class record of 165, compiled more recently by Ben Slater and Colin Ackermann in the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020.

Ahmed brought up his century – his second against Lancashire in as many matches – with a cut down to third man, his 14th four, after 164 balls.

Hill followed, his century coming off 150 deliveries with 14 fours and a 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.

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