Leicestershire under GrahamB

[GrahamB]

One moment seemed to turn this match around.
Batting first we were going along comfortably at 367/4 when Matthew Boyce had a short ball sneak through his visor, breaking his jaw.
Not only was he out for the rest of this match, but his season was over.
After his 97no and 142no in the previous match, he was certainly one player that we didn't want to lose.
The innings petered away after Boyce's exit and we were all out for 415.
Shiv Thakor (102) and Dan Redfern (108) starred for us, while young Derbyshire LMF Derek Baker finished with 3/67.

The Derbyshire batsmen then put us through more hurt, as two scored centuries (Alex Lees-139 and David Lennon-121), while three others went past 50 (Billy Godelman-77, Scott Hill-57 and Wayne Madsen-68no).
They finally declared at 505/8, a handy lead of just under 100.

Our second innings was a complete train wreck, with Michael Thornely carrying his bat through the innings to finish on 78no. The next best score was 22 from our number 11 batsman, Alec Wyatt!
Derek Baker again revelled, taking 4/30.

Derbyshire only required 80 runs to win and subsequently got those runs.
However, Marcus Clarkson grabbed three cheap wickets along the way.

[GrahamB]

LEICESTERSHIRE v YORKSHIRE (County Championship D2)

Sam Billings came back into the first eleven as keeper, with Gerald Bulman having failed to hold down his spot.
With Matthew Boyce injured, Dawid Malan comes back in as well.

The bowling continues to let us down and the axe was wielded again in this area, with Bradley Wadlan making way for a fourth seamer in Ollie Freckingham.

[GrahamB]

Under cloudy skies which were expected to deteriorate further, we put Yorkshire into bat.
Big mistake!
With both openers back in the pavilion at 68/2, we were reasonably happy with our start, but big centuries from Joe Root (161) and Jonny Bairstow (153) saw Yorkshire bash their way to a massive 601/8 declared!

Martin Sharpe (71) and Michael Thornely (105) put on 122 for the opening stand, but the only other sizeable contribution was from Marcus Clarkson, who scored a career best 66no.
All out for 341 and we were invited to follow on.

Against the odds, our lads showed great character to stave off defeat, as we scored 386/7 before declaring to give our bowlers a short crack at their opponents.
Michael Thornely (56), Shiv Thakor (47), James Hildreth (77), Dan Redfern (91no) and Waqar Anwar (52no) were the heroes of our second innings effort.
Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks were again the most successful of the Yorkshire bowlers.

Anwar and Clarkson took a cheap wicket each as the visitors ended the match on 47/2.

[GrahamB]

LANCASHIRE v LEICESTERSHIRE (County Championship D2)

With our fate as the cellar-dwellers sealed, we used the final match to give a final opportunity to two players likely to being leaving - Jack Ready (batsman promoted mid-season from our youth side) and pace bowler Ben Raine.

[GrahamB]

Batting first, we were put to the sword by that powerful bowling attack that boasted James Anderson, Chris Woakes and Dale Steyn!
We were dismissed for 203 all out, with only Shiv Thakor (63) going past forty.

In contrast, our pace attack of Marcus Clarkson, Steve Durrant and Ben Raine found the going really tough!
Luis Reece and Adam Brady both scored centuries, while four other Lancashire batsmen went past forty, enabling the home side to declare at 504/8.

Although we put up a more stubborn fight in our second innings, again only one batsmen (Sharpe-71) went past forty.
The pitch was taking sharp turn by this stage, and Simon Kerrigan got the lion's share of the wickets this time around with 4/107.
All out for 297, just short of making Lancashire bat again.
A sad way to end our disastrous County Championship campaign.




We'll be looking to bring in a couple of quality bowlers next season.
Our overseas signing, Waqar Anwar, was not the force we'd expected him to be. We were certainly made to rue our failure to sign Stuart Meaker when we had the chance!

[GrahamB]

CONTRACTS FOR EXISTING SQUAD MEMBERS

Contacts Renewed
Greg Smith (opening batsman)
Shiv Thakor (batsman)
James Hildreth (batsman)
Bradley Wadlan (spin bowler)

Released
Dawid Malan (batsman)
Patrick Grieshaber (keeper)
Ollie Freckingham (medium-pacer)
Ben Raine (pace bowler)
Jigar Naik (spin bowler)

Notes
Greg Smith has averaged over 30 in both seasons for us to date, so was seen as a cheap option.
Shiv Thakor and James Hildreth have both performed well and there was no question about whether or not to renew their contracts.
Dawid Malan came to us last season with useful batting stats, but had another poor season and we decided to let him go and find a replacement.
With Sam Billings and Gerald Bulman giving us two keepers in our squad, there was no point holding onto Patrick Grieshaber, so he was released.
With both of our spin bowlers off contract, it was too risky to let both go, so we decided to hold onto Bradley Wadlan and release Jigar Naik. We'll be looking for a quality spinner to bring in.
Pace bowlers Ollie Freckingham and Ben Raine have failed to deliver the goods for us and were let go. Bringing in a couple of quality pace bowlers for next season is our number one priority.

[KGKOOLKAT777]

CONTRACTS FOR EXISTING SQUAD MEMBERS

Contacts Renewed
Greg Smith (opening batsman)
Shiv Thakor (batsman)
James Hildreth (batsman)
Bradley Wadlan (spin bowler)

Released
Dawid Malan (batsman)
Patrick Grieshaber (keeper)
Ollie Freckingham (medium-pacer)
Ben Raine (pace bowler)
Jigar Naik (spin bowler)

Notes
Greg Smith has averaged over 30 in both seasons for us to date, so was seen as a cheap option.
Shiv Thakor and James Hildreth have both performed well and there was no question about whether or not to renew their contracts.
Dawid Malan came to us last season with useful batting stats, but had another poor season and we decided to let him go and find a replacement.
With Sam Billings and Gerald Bulman giving us two keepers in our squad, there was no point holding onto Patrick Grieshaber, so he was released.
With both of our spin bowlers off contract, it was too risky to let both go, so we decided to hold onto Bradley Wadlan and release Jigar Naik. We'll be looking for a quality spinner to bring in.
Pace bowlers Ollie Freckingham and Ben Raine have failed to deliver the goods for us and were let go. Bringing in a couple of quality pace bowlers for next season is our number one priority.

That sounds good but I would have kept Naik and dropped Smith. Don't drop Billings, he is fantastic in the game, an England regular for me.

[GrahamB]

NEW SIGNINGS FOR THE 2017 SEASON

First Round Of Offers
First we went hunting for a couple of proven pace bowlers, plus a top spin bowler.

Michael Reed has been a consistent performer and very experienced to boot, so we offered him a 2 year contract. He wanted more than we first offered, and with other clubs interested, we had no hesitation in offering him more. He accepted.

The stand-out spin bowler available was Simon Kerrigan and we happily stitched him up to a three year deal.

An outstanding young pace bowler that we encountered last season was Kurt Webster. He has just the one match under his belt at first class level, but his stats in all three forms of the game suggest that he has the goods. He was happy to sign to a three year deal.


Second Round Of Offers
Having had two successive overseas disappointments, plus with the added danger that signing a high profile player would see us having limited use, I decided to continue scouring the domestic market.
Now I was looking for a couple of good batsmen first and foremost.

There were a lot more players available now than previously, which meant careful decisions had to be made. With the deal with Micheal Reed still to be finalised, I could only make two further offers.

There were lots of quality opening batsmen, but I prefer not to play them lower in the order, so I looked specifically at top/middle order batsmen.
Two stood out - the experienced Alex Blake and an upcoming youngster, Richard Broudie.
Blake has been a consistent performer, so I went after him first.
I would have gone after Broudie as well, but a young pace bowler, Keith Langley, caught my eye, so I offered him a deal instead.

Blake agreed to a two year deal and Langley signed for three years.


Further Offers
One more batsman would give us plenty of options, but with wanting to put the maximum funds possible into coaching and youth, I had to free up some of the physio funding.

With Richard Broudie having been snapped up by another club, I went looking at the overseas market for a cheap option.
33 year old Australian, Jonathon Dean, stood out as the only one I was interested in.
Dean has good stats in all three forms of the game and has performed consistently over the past two seasons.
I snapped him up only at the very last moment.

[GrahamB]

LEICESTERSHIRE SQUAD FOR 2017

Opening Batsmen
Martin Sharpe
Greg Smith
Michael Thornely


Other Batsmen
Shiv Thakor
James Hildreth
Dan Redfern
Matthew Boyce
Alex Blake
Jonathon Dean


Keepers
Sam Billings
Gerald Bulman


All-Rounder
Frank Jewell (RMF)


Pace Bowlers
Michael Reed (RFM)
Marcus Clarkson (RMF)
Kurt Webster (LFM)
Keith Langley (RMF)
Alec Wyatt (RFM)
Steve Durrant (RMF)


Spin Bowlers
Simon Kerrigan (SLA)
Bradley Wadlan (SLA)

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

Hi mate

Were your released players at the ends of their respective contracts - so was Malan only signed on a one year deal?
Or did you have to pay any to go?

[GrahamB]

Hi mate

Were your released players at the ends of their respective contracts - so was Malan only signed on a one year deal?
Or did you have to pay any to go?

I don't release them until the end of their contracts, so Malan had only been signed to a one year deal.

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

I don't release them until the end of their contracts, so Malan had only been signed to a one year deal.

thanks - so do you normally commit to one year deals until you can see how good they are .. then offer a longer deal at the end of the first year?

[GrahamB]

thanks - so do you normally commit to one year deals until you can see how good they are .. then offer a longer deal at the end of the first year?

I usually offer two or three year deals, but in Malan's case, his season prior to signing was poor, so I only signed him to a one year deal.

[GrahamB]

DERBYSHIRE v LEICESTERSHIRE (County Championship D2)

Leicestershire debuts today for Alex Blake, Michael Reed, Keith Langley and Simon Kerrigan.

The Derbyshire side have some formidable top order batsmen, particularly English international David Lennon, while their bowling is led again by the ever dangerous Jonathan Clare.

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

I usually offer two or three year deals, but in Malan's case, his season prior to signing was poor, so I only signed him to a one year deal.

Which makes perfect sense really.
I always go for 3 year deals even if they are 35+ .. guess if they retire I'm not out of pocket!