Foxes win thriller at Lightning
Fri 28 Apr 2017
Royal London One-Day Cup Matchday 1: Lancashire Lightning v Leicestershire Foxes
RESULT | Leicestershire Foxes (2 points) beat Lancashire Lightning by three wickets (D-L-S method)
REACTION | Head Coach Pierre de Bruyn spoke to BBC Radio Leicester's Richard Rae, the interview is available to download HERE
REPORT | Leicestershire Foxes showed nerves of steel as they won a tense Royal London One-Day Cup opener by three wickets on the D-L-S method under the lights at Emirates Old Trafford.
Haseeb Hameed scored 88 on List A debut while Jordan Clark, Alex Davies, Dane Vilas and Liam Livingstone all chipped in with scores between 39 and 47 as Lancashire Lightning posted 314-8 from their 50 overs.
Leicestershire’s spin duo James Sykes and Rob Sayer did a great job, claiming 5-110 from their combined 20 overs with the slow left armer returning a career-best 4-57.
Openers Mark Pettini (59, 53b) and Cameron Delport (62, 79b) shared a century stand and the Foxes were going well at 218-3 after 36.2 overs when rain arrived.
Mark Cosgrove (67, 66b) and Ned Eckersley (39, 32b) were dismissed upon the resumption but Leicestershire were not to be denied in their pursuit of a revised 309 off 49 overs.
All-rounders Tom Wells (32 not out, 27b) and Sayer (24, 18b) shared 44 for the seventh wicket before fellow youngster Zak Chappell hit an equally important 18 not out off 10 balls as the Foxes won a thriller with four balls to spare.
County were without five players with white ball skipper Clint McKay, Ben Raine, Richard Jones, Colin Ackermann and James Burke all ruled out through injury. The Foxes made a shrewd move in naming two spinners while Eckersley led the side and Lewis Hill was keeping wicket.
Home captain Livingstone won the toss and opted to bat first on a cool but dry afternoon at Emirates Old Trafford. New ball duo Chappell and Gavin Griffiths extracted some movement in the early exchanges but the openers played some crisp strokes in sharing 50 within the opening nine overs.
Davies drove his former teammate down the ground for four boundaries in the space of two overs and also pulled the first maximum of the game to the short boundary towards the outdoor nets when Chappell dropped short.
Within the first powerplay Hameed also whipped away a couple of Chappell deliveries that were a fraction too straight and timed a trio of extra cover drives well, two of which comfortably reached the longest part of the ground towards the new hotel development.
The pair extended their alliance to 81 inside 15 overs before Sykes picked up the opening wicket, Davies reverse sweeping the spinner straight to Griffiths at backward point.
Sayer and Sykes worked well in tandem as although Hameed reached his nicely paced 50 from 56 balls (7x4) in the 20th over, the off-spinner also bowled Karl Brown (6), leaving Lancs at100-2.
New batsman Livingstone pulled a couple of fours in the 23rd over and hit a mighty maximum in the 28th as the score reached 162-2 with 20 overs to go.
The skipper continued to try to be aggressive but fell at the start of the 33rd over, counterpart Eckersley taking a fine catch at mid-wicket off the returning Chappell after Livingstone struck high into the gloomy sky.
A second key breakthrough was made in as many overs as Hameed, who looked set for a century at the first time of asking, feathered a Sykes delivery down the leg-side into the fast hands of Lewis Hill. Lightning were now at 182-4 with two new batsmen at the crease but it did not hamper progress as Vilas and Procter shared 57 in 7.2 overs.
The 200 came up as Vilas hit a brace of fours in the 37th over but, just as momentum was building, the Foxes again struck twice in as many overs.
Wells ended the partnership as Procter (21) holed out to Pettini at deep backward square-leg and the dangerous Vilas (39) was also caught from a lofted stroke, Griffiths running in from deep cover to complete Sykes’ third wicket.
Big-hitting Clark launched a couple of maximums but Sykes held his nerve and completed a four-wicket haul with the last delivery of his spell, Ryan McLaren (13) held at long-on by Sayer. The fielder then took another catch, this time a stunning left-handed grab at mid-wicket, as Wells dismissed Bailey (0).
Clark’s third maximum took the score beyond 300 and the next ball was drilled skilfully through cover point. He ended on 47 not out with three fours and the same amount of sixes as Lightning set the Foxes a challenging 315 to win.
Nevertheless, it had been a good effort from the Foxes, who fielded with good energy throughout and the only chances that went to ground were late in the innings, three skiers not quite going to hand.
There was an incident packed powerplay with runs and chances as the Foxes progressed to 58-0. Pettini has been in terrific form at the start of 2017, including two fifties and a hundred in his last four Specsavers County Championship innings, and made another half-century here after being put down a couple of times.
The opening opportunity came off the very first ball as Pettini edged to McLaren’s right at second slip but the ball escaped his clutches.
Delport came out of the traps quickly and favoured pulling into the leg-side early in his innings, including a big six, while Pettini got into his stride by striking three fours in the 10th over.
A powerful pull to the ropes brought Pettini his 50 in the 15th over, the sixth four of an innings that also included a maximum that was deposited over mid-wicket.
Lancashire changed tack, hoping a similar approach to the Foxes would pay dividends with spin at both ends.
Delport rocked back to crash Livingstone through extra for four, and the stand reached 100 in Parry’s opening over in an encouraging start for County against the slow men, but the skipper claimed two breakthroughs in the 18th.
Pettini (59) was trapped lbw from around the wicket before Neil Dexter (0) lofted his second delivery to Parry at mid-off, and Leics were now 102-2 after 18 overs.
A couple of welcome boundaries arrived at the end of the 22nd over and start of the 23rd, Cosgrove and Delport both striking through the leg-side. The stroke took Delport to 50 (68b, 5x4, 1x6), and he collected his sixth four in the next over with another strong shot through mid-wicket.
The Foxes were now ticking over nicely against the spinners and that prompted a change with the score at 135-2 at halfway, Anderson replacing Livingstone.
England’s leading test wicket-taker struck in his comeback over courtesy of wonderful work by the captain. Livingstone was positioned at mid-on but ended up three-quarters of the way to the boundary by the time he dived to dismiss dangerman Delport for 62.
Eckersley played two exquisite strikes early in his innings - a pull off Anderson and cover drive off Bailey. It was the second four of the 30th over as Cosgrove had previously pulled through backward square-leg.
Leicestershire required 148 off the last 20 overs and the batsmen were well set; the 50 partnership being recorded from 43 balls. Eckersley’s wristy pull became the first maximum of the alliance in the 35th over, with Leicestershire 201-3 by the end of it.
Another six followed – the strike that took Cosgrove to 50 from 53 balls (4x4, 1x6) – and the score moved to 218-3 after 36.2 overs when the players left the field due to rain.
An over was lost and the target was reduced to 309 so the Foxes needed another 91 off 12.4 overs upon the resumption.
The break did not help as Eckersley departed when scything Anderson to Parry at third man while Hill (2) was pinned lbw by Clark. The Foxes then lost key man Cosgrove in the 41st over, caught at the wicket as he tried to play Clark down to third man, and required 62 off 48 balls.
Parry’s ninth over cost just three runs but Sayer clubbed Clark for a couple of sixes and Wells then clouted the slow left arm of Parry for a straight maximum as 11 came off the 46th over.
It left a target of 21 off 18 balls but there was another twist as Sayer (24) holed out to Livingstone before Wells kept the Foxes’ noses in front with a super cover drive that beat Hameed on the cover boundary.
Chappell then struck 13 off the penultimate over from Anderson to leave two to win off the last over, and the batsman smashed the second ball of the over through mid-on to spark celebrations in the visiting dressing room.
Leicestershire Foxes next match is against Worcestershire Rapids on Sunday, a match where under 16s can come for free, so please come down to support the lads.
TEAM | Pettini, Delport, Dexter, Cosgrove, Eckersley (capt), Hill (wk), Wells, Chappell, Sayer, Sykes, Griffiths.
Bowling figures for Foxes: Chappell 10-0-62-1, Griffiths 8-0-66-2, Wells 10-0-58-2, Sykes 10-0-57-4, Sayer 10-0-53-1, Dexter 2-0-12-0.
