Cosgrove returns to 13-man squad

Mark Cosgrove returns to the Leicestershire CCC fold to lead the side in the opening first-class fixture of the season, a home game against Loughborough MCCU (Tuesday, 11am start).

The skipper arrived in England last week to both train and see his players competing against each other in an intra-squad fixture at the Fischer County Ground.

Leicestershire have enjoyed a good winter training programme, a valuable pre-season tour to South Africa, and some competitive intra-squad games, so are ready to go.

A number of young players have caught the eye, including Aadil Ali, Zak Chappell, Harry Dearden, Rob Sayer and Tom Wells, who are all named in a 13-man squad.

Leicestershire could also hand debuts to James Burke and Gavin Griffiths, with the seam bowler in line to make his first-class bow against the students. 

Head Coach Pierre de Bruyn is excited ahead of the first fixture of 2017 and is looking for people to immediately put in performances.

“It’s natural to have the Specsavers County Championship game against Nottinghamshire on April 7 in the back of your mind but everything has been geared up around this fixture,” said de Bruyn. “We are looking to hit the ground running at our home ground.

“I have been impressed with the attitude and commitment over the last few months, and players are being rewarded for their efforts. The intra-squad games have been competitive and intense, and that’s just the way we wanted it.

“We have a strong squad and competition will only increase in the coming weeks, so the selected players will need to stake their claim from ball one. 

“We’re fully expecting a tough, competitive fixture from Loughborough MCCU, so it’s a good way for us to start the season in earnest.”

In other team news, Clint McKay and Colin Ackermann will be joining up with their teammates shortly while Cameron Delport (both forms of white ball cricket) and Luke Ronchi (NatWest T20 Blast) will be arriving later in the season. Injuries rule out all-rounder Neil Dexter (foot) and seamers Dieter Klein and Richard Jones (both hamstring).

The club have made a number of improvements to the ground over the winter, with refreshed imagery and signage around the ground, a new scoreboard/replay screen and WiFi system.

Admission and car parking will be free at the Fischer County Ground throughout the three days, with gates opening from 9.30am. Scorecards and merchandise can be purchased from reception while yearbooks can be collected from the first day of the Nottinghamshire game.

Charles Palmer Restaurant bookings can be made on 0116 2832128, and sandwiches, confectionary and hot drinks can be brought in the Fox Bar. Please note that the Meet will only be open as a viewing facility over the course of the Loughborough MCCU game.

The Public WiFi system is still in the final stages of testing, so will be unavailable for the duration of the match.

Leicestershire (from): Cosgrove (capt), Eckersley (w/k), Ali, Burke, Chappell, Dearden, Griffiths, Hill, Horton, Raine, Sayer, Shreck, Wells.