Faultless Foxes land away win at holders
Fri 19 Jun 2015
Leicestershire Foxes produced a clinical performance to inflict a rare defeat on NatWest T20 Blast holders Birmingham Bears under the floodlights at Edgbaston.
The Bears had won 10 of their last 11 T20 games, so the Foxes knew they needed to return to their best following the defeat at Derbyshire Falcons last night.
James Sykes and Ollie Freckingham were two of three changes to the XI and they led a disciplined display with the ball as the Bears were restricted to 160-5 after electing to bat.
Captain Mark Cosgrove broke the back of the chase with 44 off 23 balls and Umar Akmal (52* off 38) and Niall O’Brien (40* off 38) then steered the ship home with a perfectly paced partnership of 93 in 11.4 overs.
The Foxes were almost faultless on the night in recording a precious seven-wicket win that takes the team up to nine points from eight games, five of which have been away from home.
They started by taking the priceless wickets of openers Chopra and Ian Bell in limiting the hosts to 33-2 in the powerplay.
Freckingham (3-0-16-1) collected a wicket with the fifth ball of his NatWest T20 Blast debut as Chopra (2) struck to Ned Eckersley at cover point in the third over.
Bell, who struck three off-side fours in moving to 19 off 13 balls, was superbly held by Tom Wells at mid-off from the bowling of McKay in the next over.
A stand of 80 developed inside ten overs between Ireland international Porterfield and Tim Ambrose, who were rewarded for taking the time to play themselves in.
Porterfield hit three fours in the space of five deliveries and Ambrose also found the fence via an edge off the impressive Sykes as the Bears moved to 67-2 after ten overs.
A lofted stroke over mid-wicket brought Porterfield the first maximum of the game in the 11th and the left-hander cut a Clint McKay (4-0-41-2) slower delivery to the backward point boundary in the next offering.
The Bears gathered 16 off the 13th over from Wells (1-0-16-0), including a pulled four and uppercut six for Ambrose, but the young all-rounder then took a brilliantly judged catch running around at long-off as Porterfield (40 off 27) fell to Sykes.
Naik (4-0-34-0) and Sykes (4-0-22-1) completed tidy spells as the Bears progressed to 120-3 with four overs to go. Ambrose, who struck a straight four in the slow left armer’s last over, then recorded a 46-ball 50 by slashing Raine for four over backward point in the 18th.
There were three fours in the penultimate over but also a wicket as McKay removed the middle stump of Laurie Evans (13, 15b). Rikki Clarke (9 off 4) then drove Raine (4-0-27-1) to Umar Akmal at long-off before Ambrose collected six off the last two balls to end on 66 not out from54 balls.
Eckersley and Cosgrove both hit a brace of boundaries in the first two overs and the skipper then powered a six over mid-on as the Foxes started with intent.
Eckersley (16, 10b) clattered a straight four at the start of the fourth over from Recordo Gordon but the bowler got his man next ball as Oliver Hannon-Dalby took the catch at mid-on.
Cosgrove smashed Gordon for another couple of fours through the off-side but a second wicket fell at the beginning of the fifth as Andrea Agathangelou (1, 2 balls), who was also brought into the side this evening, looped a return catch to Hannon-Dalby.
Two terrific off-drives brought Cosgrove further fours as the Foxes motored to 65-2 off the powerplay and a tickle off Jeetan Patel (4-0-22-1) also ran away. But Cosgrove was trapped on the back foot by the off-spinner later in the over having struck seven fours and a six in his vital knock.
Akmal glanced Boyd Rankin’s first ball to the fence before pulling, driving and guiding three successive fours in the seamer’s next offering as the Foxes moved to 98-3 at halfway.
The 100 came up at the end of the 11th over and O’Brien used his feet to drive Ateeq Javid for four in the 12th before five wides came in Patel’s final over to register the 50 partnership.
The Bears bowled a couple of tight overs but the Foxes kept composed and O’Brien struck the last two balls of the 16th over for four. Akmal smashed a mighty six at the end of the 18th and then flicked a four to sign off his spell with the Foxes by recording his half-century from 38 balls (5x4, 1x6).
Leicestershire got home with nine balls to spare and our next NatWest T20 Blast game is at home to Yorkshire Vikings next Friday, June 26 (5.30pm).
A special offer of £10 for adults and £1 for under 16s is in place for those who came to our abandoned match against Northants Steelbacks last week. Tickets can be purchased from the ticket office on 0116 245 2401 from 9am on Monday morning.
