Glory at Grace Road - A Leicestershire Story

[DaveK93]

In previous years, I’ve kicked off my main story as a Nottinghamshire save, but having spent three glorious years at Leicester University, I thought that this year, it would be nice to take charge of my adopted county. It also presents a completely different challenge for me this year, as the two clubs are on completely different ends of the spectrum.

Recent Years
Given that my 3 years were spent doing History and Politics, it’s appropriate that it is now time for a quick trip through history. Leicestershire, since the turn of the century, have been more of a limited overs side. Let’s look at each competition in more detail:

County Championship:

Last Won: CCD1: 1998

In the last 13 years, Leicestershire have not covered themselves in glory in the four day game. Seemingly permanently rooted in the second tier, they have not really impressed. In the last seven years, the highest they have come is thirteenth, the equivalent of fourth in tier two. In fact, within that seven year period, they have come last three times. With an ever increasing emphasis on the longer format, Leicestershire will need to improve dramatically to at least prove that they aren’t just there to prop up the table.

List A/Limited Overs:

Last Won: B&H Cup: 1985

Again, this is not a great format for Leicestershire. Slightly better than the CC however, but they are often left propping up the group. The team hasn’t tasted success in the format for a while, and it remains to be seen whether the return to a fifty over innings will be of benefit to the club, or a curse.

Twenty20 Cup/Friends Provident t20/Natwest T20 Blast:

Last Won: FLT20: 2011

The tournament itself may have undergone many changes since its inception in 2003, but Leicestershire have been consistent. They reached finals day in the original tournament, and then won the year after. A further win in 2006 saw them become the only team to win the Twenty20 Cup more than once. Following its name change, they then won again, in 2011. Arguably, the team has a record as one of the best t20 teams in the country. The newly formed Natwest T20 Blast sees yet another reformatting of the tournament; will this again be Leicestershire’s time to shine?

Aims
For now, I’ll set three season objectives, one for each format.

CC:
For this season, mid-table would be acceptable progress. With the squad available, promotion would not be viable, and is incredibly unlikely, so this format will take some time to correct.

LO:
Getting out the group would be nice, but I’ll refrain from setting that, and instead going for just outside the qualification places. If we can show we are in the mixer, then that will keep me going for a bit.

T20:
Our star format. Unfortunately though, it is my least favourite format, so don’t expect too much emphasis here in the transfer markets to come. For this season, a quarter final is an absolute minimum, preferably a home one. From what I have seen of the squad, we are adequately equipped to get there, and I see us as one of the better teams in our group, with the exception of maybe Nottinghamshire.

So folks, there you have it. Welcome to the Leicestershire story thread, which, hopefully, will chart the rise to former glories by the Foxes, and see some silverware return to Grace Road. I hope you enjoy the read as much as I am to playing the matches.

[DaveK93]

Squad:

Long gone are the days in which Leicestershire were able to field such names as Agnew, Broad, Dagnall, De Freitas or Hoggard. Even England hopeful James Taylor is now fading into the past. However, there are a few bright sparks within the squad, and it will be absolutely vital that these guys perform in order to ensure progress.

Josh Cobb

Probably the most important player in the squad currently. Can bowl, can bat, he’ll be holding the team together. I can see him being deadly in the shorter formats, as he is an explosive batsman, and quick runs will be vital.

Shiv Thakor

A talent on last year’s game, but has suffered with injuries. Hopefully his game is sufficient to provide big runs in the longer formats, but as yet unconvinced by his shorter format prowess.

Ned Eckersley

Since joining the team from the Unicorns, Eckersley has been impressive. In competition with the experienced Niall O’Brien for the gloves, will be looking to make the position his own.

Ramnaresh Sarwan (Overseas):

Golden Isles legend. A particular favourite of mine as well, a very classy batsman. In and out the WIndies team somewhat in recent years, despite a test average of 40. Selfishly, I’ll be hoping that he stays out, I’ll be needing him to secure the batting.

Nathan Buck

Up and coming seamer. Will lead the line for us, in the wake of Hoggard’s retirement.

Alex Wyatt

Another sterling talent from last year, and a personal favourite. A stop-start season last time around, will be looking for bigger things this year.

Jigar Naik

Since the departure of Claude Henderson, Naik has become even more crucial to the side.Whilst I can’t necessarily guarantee turning pitches, his experience will be vital in holding up an end.

Leicestershire, on the whole, have a very young squad. There are not many that age over thirty, so it gives me a chance to build a core to the squad. This is only manageable if contract demands remain low though, or if we get promoted, and as highlighted with some of my key players, I don’t really want to lose them. No pressure then!

Transfers:

Having looked at the squad depth, I decided we were a bit short in the batting line up. As such, two youth players join to swell the ranks. Their details are as followed:

Andrew Hannon:

An aggressive batsman, with a second team average of 45.8. Very promising, but probably won’t get an immediate look in.

Jim Sheen:

Again, aggressive. Averaging 50.9 for the second team, he should break into the team this season, depending on results.

[DaveK93]

CCD2 vs Kent (A):

So, first day of our season. Even before we begin, fate transpires against us. Jigar Naik is ruled out for 3 weeks, and all of a sudden, my bowling attack looks a lot weaker than before. As such, Nathan Buck will complete a four man seam attack, with Josh Cobb and Dan Redfern set to tweak the ball if necessary. Not much in this pitch at the start of the game for the bowlers, but the cloudy conditions offset that, so I’m expecting this to be a low scoring match.

Doug Bollinger will be one to watch. In these conditions, he will be lethal, and I expect him to get plenty of wickets.

We lose the toss and bowl first. Not disappointed, would have bowled anyway in overcast conditions



(Had a few issues with the screenshot, normal service resumed afterwards)

Kent started brightly, but Anthony Ireland soon pegged them back, bowling Bell-Drummond for 9, with the score on 29. Key and Stevens started to look impressive, but Cobb was able to peg Kent back just before lunch, removing Key for 44. Buck then managed to remove Stevens and Nash in quick succession, leaving the score at 141/4, and us in a reasonable position. Buck continued to run through the order, and by tea, Kent were 204/9, Buck on 4-57. Wyatt finished things off after tea, removing Claydon for 31, and Kent were 208 after the 1st innings.

Sensing an opportunity, we raced to 60 off 9 overs, before Redfern fell for 24. Thornley went soon after for 39, but Thakor and Eckersley saw us to 132-2 at the close. We didn’t start day 2 well though, as Eckers, Sarwan and O’Brien all fell quickly. A massive 144 run stand between Shiv and Cobb saw us take a commanding lead though, before Cobb fell for 75 off only 90 balls. The tail didn’t do excessive amounts of batting, but stuck around long enough for Thakor to finish on 168*. More importantly, it left us on 420, taking maximum batting points.

Kent knew they had to put in a shift to save the match at this point. Charlie Shreck had other plans though, removing both openers by the time the score had reached 31. That summed up Kent’s innings though, as they failed to make an impact. Only Brendan Nash went over twenty, but as he skied one to be last man out for 103, we sealed an innings and 17 run victory. Another good all-round bowling effort by the team, which saw senior player Shreck pick up 4 wickets. On this performance, perhaps life at Grace Road will not be as difficult as anticipated.



Batting Award:

Shiv Thakor – Stunning innings, held it together in the middle of a mini-collapse. Special mention to Cobb as well who proved a more than adequate partner.

Bowling Award:

Nathan Buck - Only came in as a last minute replacement, but picked up 6 for the match, including a devastating first innings spell.

Key Man Watch:

Bollinger got a 5fer, but there wasn’t really much else he could have done

[DaveK93]

CCD2 vs Glamorgan (H)

We start our first game at Grace Road with an unchanged line-up, which is a luxury I don’t expect to have much this season. We also get the chance to set up a seaming pitch, due to Buck’s inclusion. Whilst the weather accommodates batting early on, this won’t continue, so winning the toss will be imperative.

Jim Allenby could cause us all sorts of problems here, being very capable in both disciplines. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have a large role to play in this match.

Ramnaresh called correctly for us, and immediately signalled we would bat. With the expected pitch deterioration, we didn’t want to have to bat last.



The opening pair of Redfern and Thornley weren’t quite as explosive as last time, but still reached 66 before Allenby trapped Redfern plumb in front. Thornely and Eckersley did secure the situation, but a dramatic collapse saw us lose 8 wickets for 92 in the second session. We didn’t even reach the 200, finishing on 197, so we miss out on any batting points; a far cry from our performance last time out. Unsurprisingly, Allenby was involved, as he took figures of 4-35.

Once again, Shreck kicked us off with two quick wickets, removing Rudolph and Goodwin before they could do too much damage. Rees and Allenby staged a fightback, before Rees departed for 57, well dealt with by Buck. Allenby carried on, but fell just before the interval, Cobb bamboozling him to flatten the stumps for 84. Glamorgan then went through a series of niggly little partnerships that took them to 284; ones that got enough runs to frustrate us, but nothing major. Wyatt finished with 4 wickets, his first major contribution this year, and Shreck got 3, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that we are 85 runs behind at this point.

I can feel even more disappointed now however. Our batting line-up crumbled as Hogan and Waters ran through them, and at one point, we were 33-7! Thankfully, Wyatt and Cobb stuck around for a little while and at least got us past 100, but with 21 to win Glamorgan have it in the bag.

Despite losing Rudolph to the first ball of the innings, Glamorgan sealed an easy win in no time at all. Back to the drawing board we go.



Batting Award:
Michael Thornley – clocked up his first half century of the season, we’ll be needing a few more of those.

Bowling Award:
Alex Wyatt – Got his first meaningful contribution of the year, hopefully he carries that on.

Key Man Watch:
Jim Allenby – Man of the match, and caused us all sorts of problems.

[Manny]

Love how much detail has gone into these posts. Top work!

[DaveK93]

Love how much detail has gone into these posts. Top work!

Much appreciated, thanks!

CCD2: Essex (A)

No changes again, although O’Brien and Sarwan are both living dangerously at the moment. They need runs, or they get dropped.The pitch looks ok for batting, but typical British weather sees poor conditions all the way through. Either way, I think I would prefer batting, before too much pitch deterioration.

Ordinarily, Cook would be the key man here, but Ravi Bopara has started the season very well, so on this occasion, he is the danger man.

We won the toss, but against my original thoughts, we bowl first, to try and capitalise on the weather.



We got off to a decent enough start, removing Westley and Cook before they caused too many problems. A partnership of 171 between Bopara and Ryder caused us major problems before Wyatt finally got Ravi for 79. Jesse Ryder persisted though, putting together partnerships with Foster (73) and Pettini (36). When they eventually declared on 522-6, Ryder was on 286*. Needless to say, I regret bowling first.

In our reply, Redfern and Thornely started quickly, but Redfern soon fell for 52 (50). Thornely followed for 31, as we reached 100. Thakor and Eckers both fell in quick succession, but our two under pressure batsmen, Sarwan and O’Brien, both clocked up half centuries before Sarwan fell with the score on 269. Unfortunately, the tail couldn’t quite hold on at the end, and we fell two short of the follow on.

With a 151 run deficit, and a day to go, we set about trying to save the match. We lost a couple of early wickets, but Eckers stuck to the crease like a limpet, and Sarwan soon joined him. With tea taken, we were 149/3, and looked fairly safe. Despite Essex’s best efforts, they couldn’t break the batting lineup, and we closed out the draw.



Batting Award:
Ramnaresh Sarwan – Two good performances in the wake of a hopeless situation

Bowling Award:
Really? I don’t think so.

Key Man Watch:
Ravi Bopara – 79, but didn’t actually bowl. Did alright, but could have done much more.

[DaveK93]

T20: Derbyshire (H)

Such is the way the fixtures now work, we start our Natwest T20 Blast campaign very early this season. In theory, this is our best format in recent years, so we’ll aim to match that. Given the format change, we make a few changes. Styris, Sheen and Hannon all come in to try and give us some attacking flair, with Redfern, Thornely and Thakor making way. Naik doesn’t make the cut this time, but I would expect to see him in the lineup fairly soon.

Shiv Chanderpaul is the key man understandably, although I’m not convinced about his t20 prowess.

Seamers pitch again for us, and we hope that we can get it swinging under cloudy skies. That said, we look to bat first, so we can set an imposing target.

Thankfully, we win the toss, and get to bat.



We started a little slowly, losing O’Brian for a run a ball 4. With Eckers and Cobb at the crease though, we kicked on. By the end of the Powerplay, we were 50-1, Cobb being the destructor in chief with 31 from 18. At the halfway point, we’d got to 81, but we had lost Cobb and Eckers. Sarwan looked destructive though, and departed after 19 balls, but not before he had hit 48. Stryis and Sheen also smashed some quick runs, and we finished on 179-9, in a very confident position.

Derbyshire really struggled to get the ball away in the first couple of overs, and it cost them as they tried to up the run rate. Wyatt and Ireland were the beneficiaries as 5 wickets fell during the Powerplay. Styris then followed up with 4-21, as Derbyshire fell for 68. An easy win for the Foxes, hopefully this sets us up for the rest of the tournament.

Scores:
Powerplay:
Leics: 50-1
Derbys: 35-5

10 overs:
Leics: 81-2
Derbys: N/A

15 overs:
Leics: 128-4
Derbys: N/A




Batting Award:
Ramnaresh Sarwan – A brutal innings from the West Indian, gave us some much needed impetus.

Bowling Award:
Scott Styris – May have been a little expensive, but stopped the batting from recovering.

Key Man Watch:
Shiv Chanderpaul – 5 from 5. Not really that impressive, but not his best format.

[DaveK93]

CCD2: Hampshire (H)

This match could be a painful one for Leics. Hampshire have been in imperious form so far this season, and could cause us some serious problems. We make two changes from our last CCD2 match against Essex which sees Jigar Naik make his first appearance of the season ahead of Anthony Ireland. With that in mind, we prepare a spinning pitch, which should bring Cobb and Redfern into the fold as well. Niall O’Brien pays for his poor form as well, as Jim Sheen makes his FC debut, and sees Eckers take the gloves.

Hampshire’s designated man to watch will be the evergreen Sean Ervine, who averages 60 so far, and is handy with the ball as well.

Ramnaresh pulled it out the hat again for us as we won the toss. With Day 4 expected to be a washout, we need a fast start, and choose to bat.

(Forgot to take a screenshot of the teams. Assume it was awesome)

We got the quick start as we wanted, with Redfern setting off in a hurry. Unfortunately, no-one really got runs alongside him, and at 133-3, Redfern had 81, whilst the next highest was Sarwan with 14. Thankfully, Sarwan stuck around, and got a half century, whilst Redfern finally went for 144. At 281-5 at tea, we had definitely got the start we needed. Unfortunately Sheen failed to capitalise, going for just 5.
Cobb and Sarwan continued the fireworks, Sarwan reaching his first century of the season. By the close of play, we were all out, but for 432, a great achievement. Sarwan hit 126, and Cobb a quickfire 64 as we sealed the batting points, and gave ourselves plenty of time to force a result.

Hampshire’s openers, Carberry and Dawson, caused us no end of problems, and they got a partnership of 132 before we finally prised Dawson from the crease. Even after we shifted Carberry, Vince and Adams stuck to the task at hand. Both of them reached centuries as we toiled in the field for little result. Vince finally retired hurt, and after that, the wickets just tumbled. However, Hampshire took the lead from us, and once again, we are staring at a draw as the most likely result.

We had a crack at setting a total, but it didn’t come off. No-one really got settled during the innings, and we were left hoping the weather saved us. Once again, Redfern was one of the top scorers though, he has impressed in what would be classed as an unusual role for him.

We were saved by the rain, but it was shaping up as a decent finish. With 3 down, and Vince injured, Hants were teetering on the brink, but the inevitable result happened.



Batting Award:
Dan Redfern – His 144 was his highest ever FC score, a great knock.

Bowling Award:
Nice try.

Key Man Watch:
Sean Ervine – Once again, didn’t do much. Not a great judge on this one am I!

After 4 games, we sit 5th in the division. A distinctly average position for some distinctly average performances.

[MarksNotts]

Good story Dave, a lot of detail and makes good reading, Leics are a real challenge....decent batting line-up but a really poor bowling department, it shows in real life as well if you look at their recent history....they prop up Div 2 every season, if you finish Mid table that would be an excellent achievement.

[DaveK93]

Good story Dave, a lot of detail and makes good reading, Leics are a real challenge....decent batting line-up but a really poor bowling department, it shows in real life as well if you look at their recent history....they prop up Div 2 every season, if you finish Mid table that would be an excellent achievement.

Thanks mate! The bowling is a real concern. I like Alex Wyatt from last years game, if he becomes anywhere near that level, I'm pretty happy. Shreck is reliable but aging, and I don't have that much in the way of new blood. Having played through as far as mid-July now, Buck has been decent, but I'm still a bowler short. I can see me using my overseas player as a bowler, just for the extra quality.

In terms of spinners, I have Naik and Sykes, but neither will set the world on fire. I need a rapid overhaul of the bowling department!

I've won more than Leics have in real life in the CCD2 this season, I count that as an achievement! There are two other teams struggling as well, Derbys and Kent, so there is a definite split in the table. It's up to me to try and bridge the gap.

[DaveK93]

T20: Northants (A)

Our next match sees us play Northants, the holders of the T20 crown. The only change from the Derbyshire match sees Redfern in ahead of O’Brien at the top of the order. Redfern is our form player, so should hopefully provide runs. Northants have prepared a seaming track for us, but batting first is a priority, so we can set a target.

Key man today is David Willey, a quality all-rounder; I expect him to cause problems.

We lost the toss this time, but get to bat anyway, result!



Cobb went first ball of the match, and Eckers followed soon after in what was a poor start. Sarwan smashed 26 from 12 before he departed as well, and whilst we had runs, I’d rather have the wickets in hand. Redfern and Styris rebuilt, before Styris was caught for 22, leaving us on 83-4. However, the 14th over saw Boult remove Redfern, Sheen and Hannon in a disastrous period for the Foxes. We finished on 126 in what was a poor state of affairs, and didn’t leave ourselves much to defend.

We failed to make much of an impact in the powerplay, only removing Newton, as Northants looked comfortable. Indeed, even after we finally got rid of Levi, the result was only going in one direction, as Ireland sent down yet another poor over for them to seal the win.

Scores:

Powerplay:
Leics: 53-3
Northants: 41-1

10 overs:
Leics: 83-4
Northants: 70-1

15 overs:
Leics: 117-7
Northants: 102-3



Batting Award:
Dan Redfern – at least gave us a fighting chance

Bowling Award:
Nathan Buck – reasonably economical, and broke through to give us a faint sniff.

Aside: Very glad for the load team option, finally starting to appreciate it.

[DaveK93]

CCD2: Glamorgan (A)

We head to Wales next, to try and avenge our previous defeat. It won’t be easy though, Glamorgan are currently second, and in very good form. With a seaming pitch prepared for us, Naik misses out, replaced by Scotland international Rob Taylor. A change at the top of the order sees Sheen miss out, with Greg Smith recalled. Redfern drops down the order to provide support later on.

Allenby remains the key man in this one, after his performance against me last time. We need to deal with him better this time out.

We lose the toss and are put into bat. Not entirely sure what I would have done, so I can live with the decision.



A mixed start saw us 103-3 at lunch on the first day. Neither opener as particularly convincing, and Thakor didn’t hang around either. Eckers and Sarwan were left to pick up the pieces, and held together to start a partnership. Unfortunately, we collapsed again, and were fortunate to reach the 200. Taylor dropped just short of a half century, but did enough to get us a valuable point.

Rudolph caused major problems before departing, reaching 80, but the rest of the batsmen failed to get settled, and at lunch of day 2, Glamorgan were 178-5. Taylor had caused many problems with his left mediums, and Shreck had also done what he did best; take wickets. The tail did manage to get a few runs, but at 276 all out, Glamorgan could feel that they hadn’t done enough. Shreck and Wyatt picked up 3 wickets each in what could be considered a combined effort.

Once again, we struggled with the bat. We were 68-4 by the close of day 2, and with only a marginal lead, we were done for. Both openers failed again, as did Thakor, and their places may now come under question.

The bowlers were relentless however, and we finished on 160. Cobb and Redfern tried to keep us in the hunt, but it was futile. Glamorgan then completed the win without losing a wicket to seal what was a thoroughly demoralising result.



Batting Award:
I think not…

Bowling Award:
Charlie Shreck – took some key wickets, even if we failed to support him

Key Man watch:
Jim Allenby – Duck with the bat, not a lot with the ball. This key man thing is turning into a bit of a jinx.

[Lukesspurs]

I aggre with all comments, plz keep going with this!!

[DjF]

Really entertaining story, love your work!

[DaveK93]

I aggre with all comments, plz keep going with this!!

Really entertaining story, love your work!

Glad you're both enjoying it, definitely been my most challenging story so far, but I'd like to think I can pull this one out the bag as well