McDonald relishing FCG return

Elite Performance Director Andrew McDonald said his players are eagerly anticipating a return to the Fischer County Ground for Specsavers County Championship action.

The club have played six of ten Championship games on their travels, recording an impressive three victories including promotion rivals Essex and Gloucestershire.

Leicestershire also gave themselves every chance of success at Sussex and Worcestershire, two sides who plied their trade in the first division in 2015.

A series of good performances and results have put the team in the promotion frame and four of the remaining half-dozen matches are at home, starting with tomorrow’s visit of Derbyshire (11am start).

Leicestershire have not enjoyed much luck with the weather at the FCG in red ball cricket, seeing three games effectively halved in size.

But the forecast is better for this week, and if County are looking for a good omen, their last home four-day success was against tomorrow's opponents.

McDonald said: “It seems like an eternity since we played our last four-day game here at the Fischer County Ground, so we’re really looking forward to it. It’s an exciting time for the club, sitting where we are in the table. We’re playing in big games and have come a long way.

“This time last year we were probably looking to see where our next run and wicket were coming from a little bit. We’re now playing a style of cricket that was implemented in the off-season that we believe is sustainable throughout the tournament.

“It’s coming to the business end now and we have pretty much a full list to choose from, the bodies are in good shape and that’s half the battle, keeping the players in good shape throughout the year. Last year we finished off really strong so we’re looking to do the same this time around.”

The teams go into the game after seeing their Royal London 50-Over Cup meeting abandoned at the 3aaa County Ground, both coaches being disappointed not to have a knockout game in white ball cricket in 2016.

McDonald, however, could see the positives though after a strong second half to the campaign that saw impressive all-round performances against Lancashire Lightning and Notts Outlaws and a decent display with the ball before rain arrived at Derbyshire.

He said: “It’s been a solid end to the competition and chasing 260 we would have backed ourselves on a good surface, it was a very achievable total. We did well with the ball again, the side looked pretty settled and finished the tournament quite well.

“We are playing a style of cricket we believe can win one-day games so we are moving in the right direction in that format in particular. We are striving for improvement and we are by no means the finished article in all three formats but as long as we keep improving and keep learning and adding to the squad I think it bodes well for the future.”

Derbyshire Head Coach John Sadler, who had a successful playing career at Grace Road, said: “It’s disappointing, we genuinely felt at the start of this competition and the T20 that we had high hopes of getting to a quarter-final. We’ve not played good enough cricket in the second half of this competition, we can’t just turn it on and off, we have to be consistent.”

Leicestershire have made two permanent signings since the last Specsavers County Championship fixture at Cheltenham in Richard Jones and Dieter Klein, with both playing white ball cricket in recent weeks.

Jones also made an impact during the Gloucestershire win, and although Klein is not involved in this week’s game, McDonald is pleased to have additional options for the closing weeks of the season.

“We have a pretty stable formula in red ball cricket but Dieter Klein gives us another option with his left arm pace, and that’s something for us to think about,” he said.

“We’ve seen what Richard Jones can do in the last three games and Zak Chappell is also not far off a return. We’re in good shape and really looking forward to the challenge of Derbyshire and the next six games as a whole.”

Two additional players come into contention for this week’s fixture alongside the XI on duty at Cheltenham, Lewis Hill and Rob Sayer being rewarded for their recent good form.

Clint McKay goes into the game as the competition's leading wicket-taker, the Victorian just nine short of recording 50 victims for the second season in succession, while Mark Cosgrove (746 runs at 49.73) is also again closing in on the 1,000-run mark.

Derbyshire have Hamish Rutherford back in a 13-man squad after fellow New Zealand international Jimmy Neesham played in the club’s Royal London One-Day Cup games over the weekend.

The match will also represent a Fischer County Ground return for popular all-rounder Shiv Thakor, who is enjoying a good season for the visitors.

There is no Will Davis or Ben Cotton due to injury but Callum Parkinson, a slow left armer who is the twin brother of Lancashire leggie Matthew, is line for his first-class debut.

Leics (from): Horton, Robson, Dexter, Cosgrove (capt), Pettini, O’Brien (w/k), Eckersley, Hill, Raine, McKay, Jones, Shreck, Sayer.

Derbys (from): Godleman (capt), Rutherford, Slater, C Hughes, Madsen, Broom, Thakor, A Hughes, Mellor (w/k), Palladino, Milnes, Critchley, Parkinson.