Foxes look to bounce back at Old Trafford

The Foxes suffered a Royal London One-Day Cup defeat yesterday in a rain-affected game at Trent Bridge, but attentions now turn to tomorrow's game at Lancashire Lighting (11am start).

Notts Outlaws posted a score of 433, meaning that the Foxes had a tough chase, but they got off to a great start with Harry Dearden and Mark Cosgrove looking in fine form with a century opening partnership in good time.

After a revision of the target due to a rain delay, the Leicestershire CCC had an even bigger task, needing 195 from the remaining 15.1 overs. It ultimately proved too much despite all of the batsmen having a positive, attacking mindset.

Leicestershire CCC Head Coach Paul Nixon said: “We allowed Notts to get too many, we just did not bowl our best ball often enough. It is disappointing. We were in the game until the rain came, we were just ahead of Notts after 27 overs.

“We were in the game and then Duckworth/Lewis came in the end and it was too much – 195 off 15.1 overs was always going to be a crazy ask.”

Following the defeat to Derbyshire Falcons prior to the Notts Outlaws fixture, Nixon mentioned that the performance lacked meaningful partnerships.

That was not the case at Trent Bridge. Dearden and Cosgrove opened the batting and posted a first wicket alliance of 106, laying solid foundations for a Foxes reply, and Nixon was happy with what he saw.

He said: “We were very pleased. We thought about Cozzie [Mark Cosgrove] opening the batting at the start of the year, but he likes to bat at three, so we have kept him there.

“Cozzie has been hitting the ball well in his practice, and has that belief that makes him the player that he is. Paul Horton also played nicely in the middle order in terms of rotating and then dominating, which is something we have spoken about as a batting group.

“All of our batsmen were prepared to play to the situation with good intent, and that will stand us in good stead for our white ball cricket.”

Another positive to take from the game was the performance of Tom Taylor. The all-rounder bowled his full allocation for 74 runs, which, when taking into consideration that he bowled a large chunk of the powerplay and at the back end of the innings, is an impressive return.

Nixon said: “Tom is a high-class young bowler and a high-class young cricketer. Powerplays are always tough here, as tough as anywhere in the world because there are more one-day runs scored here than anywhere in the world.

“To come out with just over a run a ball with five fielders inside the circle is very, very tough – he has showed good skills today.”

The Foxes’ attentions now turn towards Emirates Old Trafford as they prepare to take on Lancashire Lightning tomorrow, and Nixon said their preparation is well underway. “We prepare well, we do our homework on the opposition,” he said.

“There is a very good chance that it will be a used wicket. It could mean pace off the ball, it could be spin friendly up there – it generally turns more than the average county ground.

“It is about executing your skills well and we have got to back ourselves, believe in ourselves and execute well.”

Leicestershire Foxes have named an unchanged squad for the trip to Manchester, with all-rounder Ben Mike and paceman Will Davis travelling alonside the XI that played at Trent Bridge. 

Leicestershire Foxes (from 13): Horton (capt), Ackermann, Cosgrove, Davis, Dearden, Griffiths, Hill (wk), Klein, Lilley, Mike, Parkinson, Taylor, Wright.

* Watch the full interview with Paul HERE.