Dearden named in 13-man squad

Leicestershire County Cricket Club have left no stone unturned as they look to put two extremely disappointing Specsavers County Championship performances firmly behind them.

The team have lost to Champions Elect Essex and in-form Sussex at the Fischer County Ground in the last few weeks and now have two games remaining, starting with Derbyshire at The 3aaa County Ground on Monday (10.30am start).

After losing inside two days this week, the 15-man first team squad from the Sussex game reported for training on Thursday before being part of a 50-over intra-squad match on Friday.

That fixture was a mix of all players that were fit and available, including those who played for the Second XI in a three-day friendly at Somerset this week, with everyone staking a claim to be named in the squad.

However, as McDonald points out, that process is nothing new; it is just that the squad has generally been settled because individual performances have been consistent.

A player that has caught the eye this week is young opener Harry Dearden and he has been named as part of a 13-man squad for the trip up the M1.

The left-hander, who made a well-constructed 48 in the intra-squad game, is the one addition to the squad with Lewis Hill, Ben Raine and Ollie Freckingham playing for the Second XI this week.

“The last few days have seen us go through the same selection process that we always undertake,” said McDonald. “We’ve brought all names to the table and have been thorough in terms of selection, as we always are.

“We’ve looked at recent performances in the First XI, performances from the Second XI at Somerset this week and also from the intra-squad game that we arranged on Friday with a view to picking the best XI to win the next game. That is always our policy.

“We’ll guarantee our supporters that we will bounce back in these last two games. We’re looking to finish strongly against Derbyshire and Glamorgan because it will help preparations for next season.

“These games are important for the progress of the club and there’s personal pride at stake. We’ve come a long way and the progression in terms of the table is important to us. There’s great continuity with Pierre coming in as coach in terms of the messages given and the way we play.

“Pierre will be doing his due diligence on the list for next year and these last two games are an opportunity for players to impress him, and also continue to push the club forwards.”

It is fair to say that the last two results have been totally uncharacteristic of a Leicestershire side that had only lost twice to that point.

County have generally been a position to drive games, including one at Worcestershire where they were prepared to risk defeat to try to record what would have been a priceless victory at the time.

After a strong win against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, draws against Derbyshire and Northamptonshire were recorded as the team ran out of time in trying to force a result on good batting surfaces.

However, the last two games have seen the team score 667 runs for the loss of 40 wickets, which is something that McDonald said needs to be addressed immediately.

“We’ve had two poor performances, which is most unlike us,” said McDonald. “Unfortunately in Division Two, which is an even competition, if you’re not at your best then you get turned over.

“I don’t think the pitch had anything to do with the outcome of the game, we were 90-3 and they were 82-0 and got past 300, which is usually the norm at the FCG. Sussex were at their best and we weren’t.

“We were below par collectively as a batting unit for the second game in succession, although I have to say that Steve Magoffin was outstanding in the first innings. He asked a lot of questions after lunch in our first innings. We also didn’t bowl as well as we’d have hoped.

“The message before the last game was that every time you go out onto the field it’s an opportunity to perform both as an individual and as a team. We did not make the most of that opportunity but the message does not change as we head to Derbyshire.

“We’re heading in the right direction, we already have more points than last year and there are two games to go.

“If you look back three years ago, you can see there’s been a gradual improvement. It was never going to turn around rapidly but we are on the right path. It’s important we show that in these last two games.”

Leicestershire (from): Horton, Robson, Dexter, Cosgrove (capt), Pettini, Eckersley (w/k), Dearden, McKay, Chappell, Shreck, Klein, Jones, Sayer.