Delport ready for action

Batsman Cameron Delport has not enjoyed the best of fortune since beginning his career at Leicestershire Foxes.

The 27-year-old has seen many things in a career that has taken in the Big Bash, Champions League, Caribbean Premier League and Pakistan Super League - but conceded that he has never witnessed rain like he did in Worcester yesterday!

So Delport, who originally signed for the club in NatWest T20 Blast but is now playing in both white ball competitions due to injuries and international absences, has had a bit of a frustrating start.

The team has been heavily affected by the weather since he joined, playing just 23 overs out of a possible 240 in limited over competitions.

Rain during an already shortened match left the Foxes very much on the wrong side of the Duckworth-Lewis equation in last week’s NatWest T20 Blast game against Lancashire at Old Trafford before Royal London One-Day Cup matches away to Northants Steelbacks and tomorrow’s NatWest T20 Blast opponents, Worcestershire Rapids, were washed out.

Delport acknowledged that the weather has not allowed for the ideal build-up to a match against a Rapids side that has won four of their last five T20 Blast matches, and seven of their last eight away from New Road. 

But every cloud has a silver lining. The poor weather has allowed Delport to train more with his new colleagues ahead of the visit of north section leaders Worcestershire, who are further boosted by the return of England all-rounder Moeen Ali.

“It has been frustrating, though at least I’ve had the chance to get to know the guys off the field, and we’ve been working hard indoors where we’ve had the opportunity,” said Delport.

“With 14 games in a T20 campaign, it means that if you can put together three or four wins on the trot you should still be in with a very good shout of reaching the final stages.

“You see it in the IPL, you see it all around the world. The key is momentum and to peak late in a tournament rather than early, especially in a long competition like this.

“I look at this Foxes’ squad and the capacity to do that is there, there are a lot of talented players.  There’s also experience, and that’s important, you need to have an understanding of how to get across the line.

“We’ve got great coaching staff – our own Pierre de Bruyn, and of course [Elite Performance Director] Andrew McDonald, who I got to know during my time at Sydney Thunder.

"It's a strong tournament, no question. It was a real buzz to make my debut against Lancashire at a world-class Test venue, and there are some very big names involved now, with Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum all playing. It's seriously exciting to be part of that."

Delport is not completely unfamiliar with the unpredictable English climate, having had a brief spell with the Kent Second XI back in 2007, when Graham Ford was the Kent coach.

He said: “I guess it did give me some idea what to expect, though I didn’t see rain like we had at New Road in particular! I’m certainly looking forward to seeing a bit of the country while I’m here, but now it’s all about the Rapids at home under the floodlights on Friday.

"The guys tell me the atmosphere under the lights at home is a different class, and hopefully we’ll get a change of luck with the weather and have a full game.”

The Foxes are missing the O'Brien brothers for the Worcestershire game as Niall is injured and Kevin is away playing for Ireland in One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka. A 12-man squad has been named for the game with Rob Taylor and James Sykes in contention.

Leicestershire Foxes squad: Pettini (capt), Cosgrove, Dexter, Akmal, Delport, Hill (w/k), Wells, Taylor, Raine, McKay, Naik, Sykes.