Jacques du Toit, one of six South Africans on the Leicestershire staff, took advantage of good batting conditions to make a maiden first-class hundred yesterday, helping his side to their highest total for nearly two years. Married to a local woman, and, having played for the county's second XI for the past two seasons, Du Toit, 28, qualifies for England through residency in October.

Against an attack featuring four of his compatriots, Du Toit batted watchfully on his way to his first fifty in his fourth appearance in the County Championship. Having survived a short-pitched barrage, he grew in confidence, driving Nicky Boje back over his head for six. Reaching three figures from 184 balls with 16 fours, the former Eastern Province batsman eventually fell to a ball from Boje that turned quite sharply.

Paul Nixon celebrated the birth of his first child seven hours before the start of the match by cracking a pugnacious 79 from 104 balls, sharing a stand of 129 in 28 overs with Du Toit. When Northamptonshire batted, Niall O'Brien scored at a similarly quick rate, hitting 12 fours in a 65-ball fifty.

Northamptonshire were hampered by a side injury to Lance Klusener, who bowled one ball, a wide, before pulling out of his delivery stride before what would have been his second. He left the field and took no further part. On a pitch that offered bowlers little apart from occasional uneven bounce, the visiting side were powerless to prevent Leicestershire's advance on 500. Having made only seven championship hundreds in 2007, the club's players have already scored five this season.

Nixon looked set for what would have been a sixth until he was leg before trying to sweep Boje. He had already hit the left-arm spinner down the ground for six as well as reverse-sweeping him for one of his ten fours. Jermaine Lawson thrashed some tired bowling, smashing four fours and two sixes in his 29-ball 35.

It was Lawson who made the breakthrough in his first over when Northamptonshire batted, a rapid yorker proving too much for Stephen Peters. O'Brien, scoring freely on both sides of the wicket off front and back foot, looked in prime form, getting assistance from extras, who were second top-scorer with 27.

Leicestershire: First Innings

T J New b Lucas 11
M A G Boyce c Peters b Hall 37
H D Ackerman c Hall b Boje 62
H H Dippenaar b Klusener 80
J Allenby lbw b Van der Wath 70
J du Toit c O'Brien b Boje 103
C W Henderson c Hall b Van der Wath 5
*P A Nixon lbw b Boje 79
D du Preez c sub b Brown 15
M N Malik not out 11
J J C Lawson b Boje 35

Extras (lb 5, w 4, nb 10) 19

Total (154.3 overs) 527

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-75, 3-184, 4-234, 5-300, 6-318, 7-447, 8-480, 9-483.

Bowling: Van der Wath 25-2-101-2; Lucas 25-5-120-1; Boje 38.3-8-120-4; Hall 19-4-56-1; Klusener 16-6-46-1; Brown 31-9-79-1.

Northamptonshire: First Innings

S D Peters b Lawson 17
N J O'Brien not out 76
M H Wessels not out 24

Extras (b 4, lb 9, nb 14) 27

Total (1 wkt, 37 overs) 144

D J G Sales, R A White, *N Boje, L Klusener, A J Hall, J J van der Wath, D S Lucas and J F Brown to bat.

Fall of wicket: 1-49.

Bowling: Malik 9-1-35-0; Du Preez 6-4-12-0; Henderson 12-6-14-0; Lawson 5-0-46-1; Allenby 5-0-24-0.

Umpires: M J D Bodenham and B Leadbeater.