Foxes at home and abroad

Leicestershire CCC players have been busy preparing for the 2017 season both in the UK and abroad.

Charlie Shreck, Neil Dexter, Ben Raine, Lewis Hill, Gavin Griffiths, Richard Jones, Zak Chappell, Tom Wells and Will Fazakerley have been on the winter training programme at the Fischer County Ground, with James Sykes and Aadil Ali joining them recently after returning from Australia.

The cricket practice sessions in the Mike Turner Cricket Centre have had a high intensity with the players working alongside Head Coach Pierre de Bruyn, Assistant Coach Graeme Welch and Second XI Coach John Sadler.

Leicestershire’s players have also been having outdoor fielding sessions as well as working hard in the gym on strength and conditioning and fitness.

The winter programme started at the beginning of November and the players will have completed four phases of the programme by the time they travel for the pre-season tour to South Africa.

Sharjeel Khan made his test match debut for Pakistan in Australia and posted 40 in the second innings. The dynamic opening batsman then starred in the ODI series, posting three successive half-centuries, including scores of 74 off 47 balls and 79 off 69 deliveries in his last two innings.

Colin Ackermann recorded scores of 81 and 89 first-class cricket for Warriors against Dolphins and Cape Cobras in the first two Sunfoil Series fixtures of 2017. Ackermann is the second leading run-scorer in the competition with an impressive 726 runs in 14 innings at an average above 50.

Cameron Delport has played for Kwa-Zulu Natal in the Sunfoil 3-day Cup competition and the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge. The left-hander scored 44 at a run a ball in the convincing 50-over win against Border.

Before Christmas, Ackermann and Delport both made their mark in the RSA T20 Challenge for Warriors and Dolphins respectively.

Delport and Sharjeel are now getting ready for the second season of the Pakistan Super League, where they will again play for Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United respectively.

New signing James Burke and Dieter Klein have also been preparing for the new season by training and playing in South Africa, with both players linking up with their teammates on the pre-season tour.

Clint McKay has played in seven of Sydney Thunder’s KFC Big Bash games in 2016-17, claiming four wickets for the defending champions.

Along with McKay, Sykes and Ali, Mark Cosgrove, Mark Pettini, Harry Dearden, Callum Parkinson, Angus Robson, Paul Horton and Ned Eckersley have spent periods of the winter in Australia.

Rob Sayer has been busy preparing for the new season in New Zealand on the ECB Overseas Programme. Sayer has been learning from Jeetan Patel, who recently won an international recall with the Black Caps.

* Don’t miss a ball during the 2017 season! Leicestershire CCC’s Membership packages are on sale through the club’s website HERE, or alternatively you can call 0116 283 2128.