Cricket: Best of Pierson

Leicestershire 503 Surrey 218 & 248 Leics won by inn & 37 runs

ADRIAN PIERSON and Alan Mullally bowled Leicestershire to victory here with prolonged spells of off-spin and hostile pace.

Pierson is enjoying his best season since leaving Warwickshire four years ago. He was awarded his county cap after taking five wickets in an innings against Durham, and achieved another five-wicket haul yesterday to finish with nine wickets in the match. He also passed 50 wickets in a season for the first time in his career.

Last week, both Leicestershire and Surrey achieved their first victories since May, and Surrey hauled themselves off the bottom of the table in the process. But Leicestershire comprehensively out-played them throughout this match and had wrapped things up by tea.

Surrey followed on with a 285-run deficit, but their second innings was a spineless effort and they never looked capable of taking the match into a fourth day. Mark Butcher began with a flourish, cutting Gordon Parsons twice for four, but he soon fell lbw to a fast yorker from Mullally.

Pierson was bowling by the eighth over, but it was Mullally who struck again, inducing an edge from Andrew Smith with a ball which lifted and left him. Alistair Brown was the first victim of Pierson's turn and bounce, losing his leg bail as he misjudged the length while attempting a cut.

Nadeem Shahid offered the only real resistance with an entertaining and attacking 48 to add to his first-innings 51. He swept and drove Pierson for four fours and one six over long-on. Darren Bicknell was more circumspect, but looked untroubled until he was caught off bat and pad off the last ball before lunch.

After the break, Pierson struck twice, trapping Adam Hollioake lbw and having Martin Bicknell caught at long-on. Mullally then returned at full pace to dismiss Shahid, caught at cover, and bowl Richard Nowell. Graham Kersey and Alex Tudor flailed effectively in pursuit of a lost cause, Tudor's 50 coming off only 40 balls, but they could not disguise the failures of their top-order batsmen.