Harinath, Pillans & Evans in 14-man squad
Sun 25 Jun 2017
On-loan Surrey duo Arun Harinath and Mathew Pillans go straight into Leicestershire's squad for a groundbreaking week of Specsavers County Championship action.
County travel to Northants tomorrow as part of the first full round of day-night matches in the 127-year history of the Specsavers County Championship. It will be Leicestershire’s maiden first-class game played with a pink ball.
Each day’s play starts at 2pm, instead of the usual 11am, with the last session (scheduled 7pm–9pm) played under floodlights.
Harinath will compete for a place at the top of the County batting order while Pillans, a tall fast bowler, will give increased seam options in the absence of Ben Raine (side), Zak Chappell (groin) and Charlie Shreck (back).
Young batsman Sam Evans, who posted his maiden first-class century for Loughborough MCCU at Northamptonshire earlier this season, is also included in the Leicestershire squad for the first time after finishing the 2016-17 academic year.
Seamer Richard Jones and all-rounder Neil Dexter return to a 14-man squad, and off-spinner Rob Sayer is also in contention for a place in the starting XI.
The team suffered huge disappointment during the last game at Nottinghamshire but Captain Mark Cosgrove is convinced that Leicestershire’s Specsavers County Championship fortunes can be turned around, starting at Wantage Road.
“We know that last week wasn't a good performance but there are seven games left,” said Cosgrove. “Who is to say that we can’t win four or five of them, and have a good run in the T20 competition?
"The ability is there. We have trained hard and our focus now is on performing against Northants, in conditions which will be unfamiliar to both sides.
“The seam on the pink ball can be quite hard to pick up for a batsman, and if it stays hard, it keeps swinging, so it should be an interesting game for spectators.”
Leicestershire Members can attend all four days of the game for free as part of the reciprocal arrangement that the clubs have for their Specsavers County Championship meetings.
The later playing hours will also give different followers of the sport a chance to attend a four-day fixture, as well as helping England players prepare for the day-night Test against West Indies, to be played at Edgbaston in August.
Leicestershire (from): Cosgrove (capt), Ackermann, Dexter, Eckersley, Evans, Griffiths, Harinath, Hill, Horton, Jones, Klein, McKay, Pillans, Sayer.
