Leicestershire under GrahamB

[GrahamB]

We had a poor finish to our Twenty Over Cup campaign and it wouldn't have surprised too many that we finished bottom of the table with 5 wins and 9 losses.



Our batting was predictably our Achille's Heel, with only three batsmen averaging over 20.

Matthew Boyce - 22.8 (7 innings)
Niall O'Brien - 21.1 (12 innings)
Ned Eckersley - 20.5 (4 innings)

The bowling was a different story.

Alec Wyatt - 23 wickets at 13.78 (ER 6.47)
Shiv Thakor - 10 wickets at 21.10 (ER 6.70)
Scott Styris - 15 wickets at 21.20 (ER 6.00)
Ollie Freckingham - 10 wickets at 23.70 (ER 7.64)
Bradley Wadlan - 13 wickets at 25.23 (ER 6.60)

[GrahamB]

Following a poor start to our OD campaign (only one win in seven games - still getting the hang of the right tactics to use), we found it hard to put a fit playing eleven onto the field for our County Championship match against Sussex.

With Greg Smith also being injured, we had to go in with the following makeshift line-up:

S.Thakor
R.Osborne (recently promoted youth player)
R.Sarwan (captain)
N.O'Brien (wk)
M.Boyce
D.Redfern
J.Cobb
T.Wells
J.Naik
B.Wadlan
A.Ireland

[GrahamB]

A creditable effort from the lads earned our makeshift side a creditable draw against the dangerous Surrey side.

Dan Redfern grabbed his chance to play in the first eleven with both hands, top scoring in each innings.
He was ably supported by Matthew Boyce, who also bagged himself a couple of half centuries.
Youth player, Richard Osbourne, smashed 44 in the first innings, while Josh Cobb scored 51 in the secong innings.

Of our bowlers, it was good to see our spin duo of Bradley Wadlan and Jigar Naik firing again.
On the downside, Ramnaresh Sarwan looked horribly out of form as the third spinner.

[GrahamB]

Sadly our Challenge Trophy campaign ended with another loss, but I can promise that we'll do better next season. Still been fine-tuning our OD strategy.

[GrahamB]

Off to Hampshire for our next County Championship match.

With regards to our batting, we're currently in the position of having so many batsmen producing runs, it's a case of who do we leave out?
Ned Eckersley is injured and so Niall O'Brien comes in as keeper by necessity.
Dan Redfern can't be left out after his effort in the Surrey match, so Josh Cobb gets a rest, even though he scored a half century in that same game.

Anthony Ireland and Alec Wyatt will share the new ball, with Ollie Freckingham's form having dropped away. Bradley Wadlan and Jigar Naik pick themselves.

G.Smith
M.Thornely
S.Thakor
R.Sarwan (captain)
N.O'Brien (wk)
D.Redfern
M.Boyce
J.Naik
B.Wadlan
A.Wyatt
A.Ireland

[GrahamB]

We were totally outclassed at Hampshire, as Danny Briggs outperformed our spinners to engineer a collapse in both of our innings.
There were few positives that we could take out of this match and our last few matches now take on added importance in our quest to finish in the top half of the table.

[GrahamB]

Off to Gloucestershire with our County Championship season hanging in the balance.
As the pitch is likely to favour seamers more, we've brought a third seamer into the playing eleven, Ollie Freckingham.
Jigar Naik gets a rest.

G.Smith
M.Thornely
S.Thakor
R.Sarwan (captain)
N.O'Brien (wk)
D.Redfern
M.Boyce
B.Wadlan
O.Freckingham
A.Wyatt
A.Ireland

[GrahamB]

Unfortunately, our good form seems to be tailing off as the season nears its end.

In this game our bowlers were put to the sword by an aggressive batting display from the Gloucestershire batsmen.

Then we were in sight of avoiding the follow on when a nasty bouncer from Miles felled Anthony Ireland. He had to be assisted from the middle, and x-rays later revealed a minor fracture, keeping him out for two weeks. A double blow for us, as Anthony has been our best bowler this season.

In our second turn at bat, we managed to build a lead of just over 100, but it was never going to be enough to pose a challenge for the home side.



And to top things off, suddenly we're in danger of getting the wooden spoon!

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

looking forward to seeing your contracts section .. new blood might make all the difference.

[GrahamB]

Thankfully we have a home match against Essex next, as we need to include our spinners.
Freckingham and Wyatt will share the new ball. They've both had pretty horrid seasons so far, but their continued tremendous form in the second team means that I must persevere with them.
Ned Eckersley returns from injury, so hopefully he'll add more backbone to the batting.

G.Smith
M.Thornely
S.Thakor
N.Eckersley (wk)
R.Sarwan (captain)
D.Redfern
M.Boyce
B.Wadlan
J.Naik
O.Freckingham
A.Wyatt

[GrahamB]

looking forward to seeing your contracts section .. new blood might make all the difference.

Hopefully we can strengthen our bowling, as that's where we're falling short this season.

[Dick Van Dykes Disco Dog]

Hopefully we can strengthen our bowling, as that's where we're falling short this season.

Its crazy that you end up seeing released domestic players who have taken 70+ wickets available to be bought.
Snap 'em up!!

[GrahamB]

The Essex side seem to one of the most well balanced in the Division and they were too strong for us.
We conceded a first innings lead of just over 100 and then collapsed in our second turn at bat against the hostility of Reece Topley and the guile of Monty Panesar.



And sadly, we're where we don't want to be in the points table.

[GrahamB]

We finish the season with a bottom of the table clash at Derbyshire.
We've retained the same playing eleven, so let's see if we can gain a morale boost by finishing on a high note.

G.Smith
M.Thornely
S.Thakor
R.Sarwan (captain)
D.Redfern
M.Boyce
N.Eckersley (wk)
B.Wadlan
J.Naik
O.Freckingham
A.Wyatt

[GrahamB]

The pitch at Derbyshire turned out to be a batsman's paradise.
Shiv Thakor finished the season on a high with his first double hundred, although he was quickly brought back down to earth with a second innings duck.



Which sadly means that we've lived up to pre-season expectations by finishing at the foot of the table.



And while our batting was usually pretty reliable.......



........our bowling was rather pathetic.