England left-arm quick Josh Hull ran through Northamptonshire with a match-winning new-ball spell, setting up a 132-run victory for Leicestershire in their County Championship Division Two match.
The 20-year-old Hull, whose only Test appearance so far came last year, took out three out of the top four batters in the second innings, derailing Northamptonshire's chase of 289. Between overs 10 and 16, Hull prised out openers Ricardo Vasconcelos and Luke Procter, as well as James Seales, finishing with figures of 6-0-13-3.
He had dismissed captain Procter earlier in the game as well, his only wicket in the first innings.
Match 38, Leicestershire vs Northamptonshire
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Northamptonshire didn't really recover from the top-order setbacks, losing wickets in a steady flow thereafter. They lost half their side for 78, and were packed up for 156, with No.10 Ben Sanderson (32) the only other batter to cross 30 aside from No.3 George Bartlett.
Apart from Hull, every other bowler took at least a wicket, with Ben Green and Tom Scriven picking up two apiece, and Ian Holland, Logan van Beek and Rehan Ahmed bagging one each.
The victory kept Leicestershire at the top of the Division Two points table, with 95 points so far, including three wins and two draws in their five fixtures.
Hull's spell would act as a reminder to selectors who recently picked the squad for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, including two uncapped players. He is yet to add to his one Test cap: the 6'7'' fast bowler suffered an injury during that Oval Test, and had to be excluded from the Pakistan tour that followed.
His selection, as a bowler who can swing the ball into right-handers from a height, was seen as way to build England's pace attack ahead of the Ashes this year. However, the injury stunted his progress, with a return to action coming via the County Championship. Against Gloucestershire, he he picked up 1-60 and 2-37, his first competitive game in seven months.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
