Foxes fully prepared for Blast opener - Nixon

All of the hard yards have been put in ahead of the Vitality Blast competition – so Head Coach Paul Nixon knows that his Leicestershire Foxes side are ready to hit the ground running at Northants Steelbacks tomorrow (6.30pm start).

The Foxes turn their attention to the shortest form of the game at Wantage Road after enjoying a terrific first half to the Specsavers County Championship campaign, including a fine win at Derbyshire CCC last week.

Preparation stepped up a notch yesterday with two hard-fought games in the Second Eleven T20 tournament against Worcestershire Rapids at the Fischer County Ground. The Foxes won both fixtures with lots of players playing at least one match, and have trained hard in the heat today.

Nixon, who enjoyed tremendous success as a Foxes player in the format, said his team are in a “good space” ahead of a trip to a ground where they have already won twice in 2018.

“T20 has been the cornerstone of our success over the last decade or so, we are treating it very seriously and have had meticulous preparation,” said Nixon. “We have good plans and clear thoughts, so it’s about execution now.

“We had two good games against Worcestershire [in the SET20s] on Monday and will take momentum from that. We’ve worked really hard, we’re in a good space and are now ready to go and enjoy it.

“It’s great to have two world-class overseas professionals. [Muhammad] Abbas has so many different skills, as we saw against Worcestershire yesterday, and Mohammad Nabi is outstanding with both bat and ball. He is a quality operator in all conditions and a clever thinker too.

“We had a good Championship win there, and also won the one-day game at Northants, so we’re looking to make it a hat-trick tomorrow night. We have gone through all of the preparation, are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and are ready to get going now. It’s an exciting time for us.”

The Foxes will be led by Colin Ackermann, who yesterday extended his contract with the club until the end of the 2020 season.

Ackermann has been in tremendous form this year, scoring almost 1,000 runs in the Specsavers County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup combined, and is ready to build on his captaincy experience from 2017.

He, like Nixon and everybody at the Fischer County Ground, is looking forward to seeing Nabi in action throughout the campaign.

“I really enjoyed doing the job last year whenever Clint McKay was injured and I’m looking forward to doing it again,” said Ackermann.

“Every ball is an event in T20 and things change all of the time, so the trick is knowing when to attack. The key is to try to take wickets throughout the innings.

“We have a good blend of youth and experience in the squad, [Mohammad] Nabi has played in the biggest tournaments in the world, and he has an extraordinary strike rate and economy rate.

“The aim is to make Finals Day, but we’ll take it game by game as it’s a long tournament. The first step is to have a good start at Northants tomorrow night. That is what our focus is on.”

Leicestershire Foxes has named a 14-man squad ahead of the game with Nabi set for his Foxes debut and Abbas ready to make his first appearance in this particular format.

The Foxes will also be boosted by the availability of key all-rounder Ben Raine, who missed the entire 2017 T20 campaign because of injury.

Foxes (from 14): Ackermann (capt), Abbas, Chappell, Cosgrove, Delport, Dexter, Griffiths, Hill, Horton, Nabi, Parkinson, Raine, Sayer, Wells.

* Our first Vitality Blast home game is against Durham Jets on Friday night! The best value tickets are available in advance - they cost just £10 for adults, £7.50 for concessions and £5 for under 16s in advance of the fixture. Secure your seat at the Fischer County Ground today HERE