Stevie Eskinazi has scored two centuries and two half-centuries for Leicestershire this summer Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Uptonsteel Grace Road, Leicester (day three).

Nottinghamshire 490: Slater 178, Clarke 97, Duckett 77; Green 7-112

Leicestershire 308 & 215-7: Tattersall 61, R Patel 53; Stone 3-34.

Leicestershire (4 pts) lead Nottinghamshire (8 pts) by 33 runs with three wickets remaining. Nottinghamshire will expect to close out a second win of the season and potentially go top of the Division One table with Leicestershire facing a tough challenge to avoid defeat in their County Championship clash at Uptonsteel Grace Road.

Forced to follow on 182 in arrears after they were bowled out for 308 despite a defiant century from Stevie Eskinazi in reply to Nottinghamshire's 490, Leicestershire threatened to subside in three days after collapsing from 99 without loss to 131-6 in their second innings.

They recovered enough to stave off an innings defeat thanks to Jonny Tattersall (61) and Ben Green adding 81 for the seventh wicket but Tattersall was out just before the close.

After Olly Stone added 3-34 to his first-innings 5-68, Leicestershire's lead is just 33 runs. But for Eskinazi's efforts in enabling a recovery from 112-7, last season's Division Two winners might have already been reflecting on a second home defeat of the season.

The former Middlesex batter - who was later out for a second-innings duck - batted for just short of five hours before he was dismissed for exactly 100, with New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel contributing a career-best 62 to a ninth-wicket stand of 120. Their partnership - a ninth-wicket record for Leicestershire against Nottinghamshire - had been the feature of the morning, suggesting the home side would at least not lose without a fight.

Nottinghamshire had their East Midlands neighbours eight down and a daunting 344 behind with 16 overs remaining on day two, yet it took until lunchtime on day three for them to claim their final two wickets.

Eskinazi's hundred was his third century for Leicestershire since moving from Middlesex last September and his second of the season. Ajaz stayed with Eskinazi for two hours, totting up 11 boundaries.

There was important support too from Josh Hull, the tall England pace bowling prospect, who is not yet at a level to contribute heavily in runs but stayed at the crease for 71 minutes, in which time Leicestershire advanced from 266-9 to a second batting point and Eskinazi to exactly 100 from 190 balls before he nibbled at one from Lyndon James to be caught behind.

Stone masterclass helps Notts tighten grip on Foxes. Slater puts Notts on top against Leicestershire.

Nottinghamshire's seam attack had been made to work for longer than anticipated. Nonetheless, with a fresh bowler at his disposal in James Hayes, now confirmed as injury replacement for Brett Hutton, sidelined with a calf strain, skipper Haseeb Hameed enforced the follow-on.

For an hour and a quarter, there were few signs of an early breakthrough. Rishi Patel and Jake Weatherald, naturally positive, found the boundaries regularly, Patel in particular. He moved to 53 from 62 balls with his ninth four.

But the tide began to turn when all-rounder James removed both openers in the space of five deliveries. Patel, defending, nicked to first slip; Weatherald, shaping to cut, was caught behind off a steepling top edge. The two had shared a partnership of 99 runs for the first wicket.

It was a solid start but one that rapidly unravelled as another incisive spell by Stone claimed three wickets in the space of 21 balls. Bowling from the Bennett End, at which he had proved so effective on day two, Stone's away movement had Ian Holland caught at third slip and Lewis Hill at first slip, before he brought one back to have Eskinazi leg before, having seen him dropped at first slip moments earlier.

At tea, Leicestershire were 131-5, still 51 in arrears, and suffered another setback at the start of the final session as Ben Cox missed his sweep attempt and was leg before to the left-arm spin of Liam Patterson-White.

But Green and Tattersall, who was caught at first slip off Patterson-White in the day's penultimate over after batting for almost two and a half hours, at least ensured Nottinghamshire would need to bat a second time.

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