Leicestershire have spent most of this season being paired with Northamptonshire as counties hiring South African fig leaves to cover their inadequacies. But it is a narrow-minded view backed up by one-eyed statistics particularly on the evidence here.

For the first time this season Leicestershire have as many home-grown under-25s in the season as Kolpaks. Four of their top seven have come their academy and are England-born. Indeed the openers, Matthew Boyce and Greg Smith, kept Middlesex at bay for a session yesterday. It was painstaking at two an over but impressive stuff from Boyce, 23 and Smith, 19, especially as they defied Shaun Udal and Murali Kartik.

Stung by the criticism from without, Leicestershire have compiled some compelling statistics to defend themselves. By their calculations, before this round of LV County Championship matches, only Yorkshire had averaged more England-qualified under-25s at 5.36 per game, compared to Leicestershire's 5.09. Northamptonshire were third from bottom, averaging just one a game, the same as Kent, who have fielded just one England-qualified 25-year-old this season. Surrey were bottom, having fielded three but averaging just 0.8 per game.

“Twenty-five is the cut-off point we think,” Neil Davidson, the chairman said. “From the statistics we have compiled, after the age of 25 you do not go on and play 50 Tests for England. Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood were the anomalies. It's not about playing non-qualified players, it's about not playing young cricketers.”

Davidson points to the Durham model of success in playing experienced foreigners alongside young England players. Leicestershire can rightly claim Stuart Broad, who left for Nottinghamshire this season, as the first product of their new system.

Boyce has been the success story of the season and had kept his place ahead of the failing Boeta Dippenaar, Leicestershire's South African overseas player. The left-handed Boyce made 63 off 155 balls, mixing judicious drives and sweeps with sound defence. He put on 94 in 41 overs with Smith, who was caught at slip for 23 off 98 balls, third ball after tea, pushing forward to Kartik. Boyce followed in Kartik's third over, trapped leg-before on the back foot, by the arm ball.

Paul Nixon and Hylton Ackerman steadied the ship before Nixon was caught behind cutting at Udal four overs before the close. But neither runs nor wickets have come quickly and a draw seems the most likely result. In the morning, Ben Scott reached his eighth fifty of the season as the last four Middlesex wickets fell just before lunch for 82 runs in 21.5 overs.

Scoreboard
Middlesex: First Innings (overnight 285-6)
B J M Scott c Nixon b Henderson 58
T J Murtagh c Cobb b Malik 25
M Kartik lbw b Kruger 0
A Richardson c Smith b Henderson 26
S T Finn not out 1
Extras (b 1, lb 8, w 3, nb 2) 14
Total (113 overs) 367
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-128, 3-184, 4-200, 5-277, 6-285, 7-319, 8-320, 9-352.
Bowling: Du Preez 23-6-61-0; Malik 24-6-73-2; Kruger 24-4-95-4; Allenby 6-1-30-0; Henderson 33-8-85-4; Cobb 3-0-14-0.

Leicestershire: First Innings
M A G Boyce lbw b Kartik 63
G P Smith c Strauss b Kartik 23
*P A Nixon c Scott b Udal 37
H D Ackerman not out 33
J Allenby not out 4
Extras (b 4, lb 9, w 3, nb 8) 24
Total (3 wkts, 73 overs) 184
J W A Taylor, J J Cobb, G J P Kruger, D du Preez, C W Henderson andM N Malik to bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-94, 2-100, 3-175.
Bowling: Kartik 21-4-51-2; Udal 14-3-28-1; Murtagh 13-3-37-0; Richardson 15-4-35-0; Finn 9-1-18-0; Malan 1-0-2-0.
Umpires: N G Cowley and R T Robinson.

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