Northants bidding to bring quick end to Leicestershire innings

Gareth Berg was happy to be an instant hit on his Northants debut.
Luke Procter took three wickets for NorthantsLuke Procter took three wickets for Northants
Luke Procter took three wickets for Northants

But the all-rounder, who has joined on loan from Hampshire, admits the first day of the clash with Leicestershire at Grace Road was 'a mixed bag'.

And he has called on his team-mates to finish off the opposition's first innings quickly on Wednesday.

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Berg struck with his first ball as he had key man Colin Ackermann caught by Rob Newton.

But Leicestershire managed to end the first day on 276 for eight, despite the best efforts of Berg (2-43), Luke Procter (3-43) and Brett Hutton (2-43).

And Berg said: "It was fun to get a wicket with my first ball, even if it wasn't quite the way I'd have liked to.

"We bowled a bit of a mixed bag overall, but we brought it back.

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"It wasn't an obvious decision to bowl first, but we felt if there was anything to come out of the wicket it would be on the first day.

"We'll come back tomorrow and hopefully end it quickly."

Hassan Azad hit 86 for Leicestershire as they tried to put a spanner in the works of Northants, who currently occupy the third and final promotion place in Specsavers County Championship Division Two.

And Azad said: "I didn't set out with a target at the start of the season, but it means a lot to have achieved the 1,000 run milestone.

"There was a little bit of seam movement early and it was hard work, but as the ball got older it came on a bit better, and in the afternoon session, especially with 'Cozzie' (Mark Cosgrove) in his stride, scoring got a little bit easier. Well, for him, anyway!

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"They bowled really well to bring it back, Procter in particular, but George Rhodes played a really good and hard-working innings to lift us to a pretty good score.

"Hopefully we can get a few more and really give our bowlers something to bowl at."