It's a huge game for both sides - Nixon

Head Coach Paul Nixon has urged his side to play the game – not the situation – as Kent CCC arrive for an important Specsavers County Championship match tomorrow morning (11am start).

Leicestershire CCC is bang in form ahead of the fixture that pits fourth against third, winning four of their last five games in the competition.

Even the match that the Foxes did not win was a cruel case of the one that got away; the team dominated against Middlesex CCC before being edged out by a solitary wicket.

Results in the last round, which saw defeats for the top two and victories for the four teams chasing them, ensured that things could hardly be closer as red ball cricket returns to the Fischer County Ground.

The Foxes sit 17 points behind leaders Warwickshire CCC, 10 points away from Sussex CCC in second, and closed the gap to Kent CCC to four points following the recent victory at Canterbury.

Baring in mind that Leicestershire CCC still must play all of those teams in the next four rounds, and everything is perfectly poised.

Nixon said that everyone appreciates that the visit of Kent CCC could be a vital game in the context of the season, but also that it is important to remember that it represents one sixth of the remaining fixtures.

“We're in a good space, and our belief is there" said Nixon. "It’s a huge game for both sides, and everyone will be well aware of that, but it’s the most important game in the sense that it’s our next one.

“There are six games left, which is a lot of cricket, and we have to play Sussex and Warwickshire soon. I’m sure that there will be plenty of twists and turns before the season is out.

“I know there was talk about us laying down a marker down in Canterbury, but the most important thing is that we kept ourselves in the hunt.

“We need to keep producing performances over a period of time by playing consistent cricket. If we can do that, then we won’t need to look too closely at the table, because we won’t be far away.

“For us, I know it’s cliched, but it’s one game at a time, one session at a time - and even one ball at a time. It’s about winning as many balls as we can. If you make every ball an event, and win more balls than you lose, then it gives you a good chance in this great game of ours.”

Nixon was delighted with the performance at Canterbury, but acknowledges that will count for little when the umpire at the standing end shouts ‘play’ at 11am on Sunday.

The Head Coach is also unconcerned about the rapid switch from white ball to red given the team has successfully negotiated that on a number of occasions this term.

“We produced a really strong performance at Kent in the last round,” said Nixon. “It was a good toss to be able to claim, but we weren’t that happy with our start to the game. So we challenged the players [at lunch on day one], and to win inside two days speaks volumes of their character.

“Although we won by 10 wickets, it was a game of fine margins. To get ourselves a three-figure lead and have a wicket burst shortly after they got themselves ahead was huge.

“We’d have backed ourselves to chase anything within reason, but chasing 75 at the backend of day two was naturally better than chasing something larger as the match wore on.

“Kent have been going well on all fronts, and we know that they’re a good side, and no two games are ever the same. We’ll need to be at our best again, and be ready to go hard from the outset.

“That game [at Canterbury] came right in the middle of the T20 competition, so there will be no problem adjusting back to red ball cricket. We have had good focussed practice sessions and are looking forward to these next few weeks with the focus back on the red ball.”

Leicestershire CCC opener Harry Dearden, who scored an excellent unbeaten half-century to help to guide the Foxes home in the first meeting between the counties as well as posting 61 on his T20 debut last night, echoed Nixon's sentiments.

He said: "Everyone is really positive but we'll approach it the same way as any other game. The organisation, mental preparation, and so on, will be like any other game.

"I think there is a bit of a psychological advantage there with beating them inside two days, but it all starts again when it comes to 11 o'clock on Sunday morning.

"As soon as that time comes, everything that has happened will have gone, and we'll play it as we see it. We could be batting or bowling, and it will be a whole new start.

"It has been a hectic schedule recently, but now there are six [Specsavers County] Championship games left, and we can really stake our claim for promotion and put ourselves in the hat."

A 12-man squad has been named ahead of the game, with the XI on duty in the last round at the St Lawrence Ground joined by all-rounder Ateeq Javid.

Kent CCC will again be without New Zealand pace ace Matt Henry, whose hiatus between two spells in the south-east has coincided with both Specsavers County Championship meetings of the sides.

Leicestershire CCC (from 12): Horton (capt), Abbas, Ackermann, Chappell, Cosgrove, Dearden, Dexter, Eckersley (wk), Griffiths, Javid, Parkinson, Raine

Kent CCC (from 13): Billings (capt & wk), Bell-Drummond, Claydon, Crawley, Denly, Dickson, Kuhn, Podmore, Riley, Stevens, Stewart, Thomas, Robinson

* It's Former Players Day on Sunday, with a number of Leicestershire CCC legends returning to the Fischer County Ground. Join them for what promises to be an entertaining day's cricket, with adult tickets available for £12 and under 16s for just £2! Buy online today HERE