Australian bowler Nathan McAndrew has proved the match-winning hero for Sussex, ending one of the county championship’s most amazing innings from Leicestershire’s Louis Kimber, a record-breaking double ton which featured a 43-run over and 21 sixes.
Kimber, a 27-year-old English big hitter, almost dragged Leicestershire to the most astonishing victory at Hove on Wednesday, as he smashed 243, the fastest double-century from balls faced (100) the old competition had ever witnessed.
He also shattered more championship records with the most sixes in an innings (21) and the most runs in one over – 43 off England seamer Ollie Robinson – to power Leicestershire close to their wholly improbable target of 464.
Ultimately, though, it was 30-year-old medium pacer McAndrew who played part pooper when his leg-cutter prompted Kimber to drag a low one on to his stumps as he tried to get Leicester over the line with only No.11 Josh Hull for company.
Kimber, who faced just 127 balls with 206 (20 fours and 21 sixes) coming in boundaries , broke England captain Ben Stokes’ Championship record of 17 sixes set in 2022, but ultimately his incredible effort couldn’t stop Leicestershire losing by just 18 runs.
McAndrew, who finished a fine game with a half-century (a first-innings 53) and three wickets (1-44 and 2-45), and all his teammates congratulated Kimber as both teams’ backroom teams formed a guard of honour as he walked off to a standing ovation.
Kimber, who’d only hit one century previously, hit offspinner Jack Carson for 20 in an over, taking him to a 37-ball half-century, but it was only the hors d’oeuvre as England seamer Robinson was brought on to curb his enthusiasm.
But Robinson’s third over, a nine-ball affair, proved historic.
As the England man bowled three no-balls – each no-ball is worth two runs in the county championship – Kimber whacked him for 6, 4 (nb), 4, 6, 4, 4 (nb), 4, 4 (nb) and 1.
Having hammered two sixes, six fours and a singles, to go with the six extra runs for overstepping, Kimber reached his hundred in 62 balls with his fifth four of that over, cut low past cover.
The 43 runs in an over broke the previous championship record – 38 when Lancashire’s Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff smashed Surrey’s Alex Tudor in 1998, a mark equalled only two days ago when Surrey’s Dan Lawrence took Worcestershire spinner Shoaib Bashir apart.
Elsewhere, Marnus Labuschagne scored his second half-century of the match for Glamorgan against Northamptonshire (93 and 64), but couldn’t guide them to victory in his last home match of the season in Cardiff as they ended up hanging on for a draw.
Nathan Lyon’s four wickets (3-62 and 1-54) helped bowl Lancashire to an innings-and-83-run win over Kent at Canterbury, while Sean Abbott chipped in with two second-innings wickets and Dan Worrall a tidy 1-16 off nine overs despite slight injury niggles as Surrey routed Worcestershire by an innings and five runs.
The win at Worcester’s New Road ensured that champions Surrey will have a 20-point lead going into their table-topping clash with second-placed Essex at the Oval next week.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au