Croft denies Foxes at death
Fri 15 May 2015
Captain Steve Croft hit the last ball of the game for four as Leicestershire Foxes suffered the cruellest of defeats in the first game of the NatWest T20 Blast competition at Lancashire Lightning.
The Foxes were going great guns on 105-2 after 11.2 overs but the whole complexion of the game changed after a stoppage for rain. The match was reduced to 15 overs per side and the Foxes ended on 131-7 at Emirates Old Trafford.
Kevin OÔÇÖBrien (47 off 27 balls) and Ned Eckersley (29 off 14 balls) had played fluently in sharing 42 in three overs for the second wicket. But the Ireland international lost momentum with the delay and was one of four wickets for the lively George Edwards when the rain relented.
Duckworth-Lewis recalculations set Lightning 140 to win and they got home by five wickets right at the death as Croft made a perfectly-paced 70 not out off just 39 balls. The skipper shared a vital 74 off seven overs for the fifth wicket with Alex Davies (25 off 16 balls).
Earlier in the evening, Mark Cosgrove, Clint McKay, Grant Elliott and Kevin OÔÇÖBrien made their T20 debuts for the club, and the captain won the toss and elected to bat first. The left-hander came out to open with Eckersley, who pulled the first ball of the campaign for four.
Cosgrove hit a huge maximum to mid-wicket and clipped a four down to fine leg off consecutive balls in the second over before falling for 12 in the third, nicking Tom Bailey to Davies. The young seamer started well but Eckersley smashed the last ball down the ground for six as the Foxes progressed to 30-1.
Kevin OÔÇÖBrien clubbed a couple of sixes and Eckersley hit three beautifully timed fours - two of which were struck inside-out - as the duo combined to tremendous effect. But the in-form Eckersley perished in attempting to hit Croft for six, caught by Karl Brown at deep mid-wicket.
The Foxes were 64-2 after the powerplay and Elliott hit his first four for the Foxes as Stephen Parry dropped his first delivery short. The next five balls were dots though, and Kevin OÔÇÖBrienÔÇÖs nicked boundary in Alex LilleyÔÇÖs first offering was a welcome relief to building pressure.
Kevin OÔÇÖBrien then twice swept Parry for four in the ninth over and the Foxes moved to 93-2 at the halfway stage. Elliott hit a beautiful four over cover before the players came off for rain at the worst possible time.
The Foxes had 22 balls left of their innings when play resumed and it was, predictably, a manic passage. Elliott (17 off 21 balls) top edged the second ball of the resumption to Ashwell Prince off Parry, and two wickets fell in the next over to George Edwards, who only conceded two in the process.
Kevin OÔÇÖBrien perished at the start of the 13th, caught by Jordan Clark at cover while Rob Taylor (0) got an inside edge and was taken by a diving Davies. ┬áThat meant Tom Wells and Clint McKay were paired without having faced a ball, but the duo did a good job in the closing stages.
McKay hit a terrific four through mid-on as 15 came off the penultimate over and Wells found the ropes in the last over. The last two balls brought wickets, however; McKay holed out to Alviro Petersen at long-off and Wells was caught by Prince at long-on - both for 10 - as Edwards finished with 4-20.
Nine were gathered in the first over but Prince top edged the second delivery of the second over bowled by Raine and Niall OÔÇÖBrien pocketed the catch. Liam Livingstone (15 off 12 balls) then collected three fours and Brown also lofted a four as Lightning moved to 33-1 after three overs.
An important second wicket arrived when Brown skied high into the night sky and Cosgrove took an extremely well judged catch moving in from extra. As well as claiming the wicket, McKay conceded only three runs, and Taylor built on the pressure by having Livingstone held at mid-on by Wells with his first delivery.
LightningÔÇÖs progress had been checked and they were now 43-3 after the five overs of powerplay. ┬áJigar Naik and Elliott conceded six and eight respectively as the Foxes kept the pressure on, and the off-spinner then removed Peterson courtesy of a catch by Raine at long-off.
The Foxes looked to be on top but the home side then scored 14 off each of the next two overs with Davies hitting three fours and Croft clubbing the first six of the innings. The skipper then clattered a four in the 11th over but only seven came off TaylorÔÇÖs second and the Lightning now required 44 off 24 balls.
McKay returned and also went for just seven but a four from Croft at the start of the 13th recorded the 50 partnership.  The second ball also went to the ropes and Croft then moved to a 30-ball fifty with a single. 13 came off the over, all told, so 24 were required from 12 balls.
Davies collected two fours in the 14th over through an audacious reverse paddle and a club to mid-wicket and 14 were scored in total. But the stand was ended at the start of the last over bowled by Raine; a precise throw from Taylor and good glovework from Niall OÔÇÖBrien accounted for Davies as he tried to steal a second run.
Three came from the next two balls but Croft then produced an outstanding shot that raced to the extra cover boundary. There was yet more drama as a Raine bouncer was not scored off, but with two needed off the final delivery, Croft cracked the last ball through backward point for four to seal two points for Lightning. Bowling figures: Sykes 2-0-20-0, Raine 2-0-24-1, McKay 3-0-24-1, Taylor 3-0-27-1, Naik 3-0-24-1, Elliott 2-0-22-0
The Foxes had gone so close but attentions in the competition now turn to next FridayÔÇÖs first home game against Derbyshire Falcons (5.30pm start).
