McDonald: "We showed character and fight"

* A full interview with Andrew McDonald talking to BBC Radio Leicester’s Richard Rae is available HERE

Leicestershire CCC Head Coach Andrew McDonald was delighted with the way his side coped with a number of challenges during the latest LV=CC game at Northamptonshire.

County found themselves at 34-4 in the first innings, lost key bowlers Ben Raine and Charlie Shreck to injury, and saw the best part of four sessions wiped out because of heavy rain at Wantage Road.

Despite all of those facts, Leicestershire found themselves just 86 away from completing a second consecutive Championship victory when umpires Alex Wharf and Mike Burns had no choice but to abandon a miserable final day.

There is a saying in sport that you can only control the controllables – and McDonald was pleased by the way that his charges took responsibility and overcame adversity to put themselves in the box seats.

"It was a really good performance over the first three days of the game,” he said. “You can't do much about the weather and what happened was totally out of our control.

"I'm really proud of the guys. To back up a good win over Derbyshire, and to bounce back from some disappointing one-day form in between, showed a lot of character and a lot of fight, which is what we are asking for.

“The way that Wayne White and Clint McKay went about it, with us two bowlers down, was outstanding. For those two to front up and deliver was a significant step forward for the group. We know that we’re building and moving in the right direction, and that was another huge step forward.”

A good demonstration of heart and spirit was provided by White, who overcame a tough time with the ball in the first innings by making a vital 43 and taking five wickets second time around in the absence of Raine and Shreck.

"We always knew that we’d have to get Wayne back up and running and there were no huge concerns after the first innings,” said McDonald. “We knew that he was short of where he needed to be, but the only way to get back up to the level is to play at the level.

“Wayne is a significant person for this club going forward and that’s why we picked him. We started getting him back in the side and back around the group as we see him playing a huge role over the next few years.

“Both teams had an edgy start in losing four early wickets but Niall O’Brien and Mark Cosgrove both stood up. Senior batters can get you out of trouble and then Wayne got a steady score and Clint was able to cash in towards the end against a tiring attack and that allowed us to get a lead.

“We got ourselves ahead of the game and once that happened, we started driving the game, which is something that we pride ourselves on.”

Leicestershire now have some time to prepare for their next challenge as they welcome Gloucestershire to Grace Road on Tuesday, September 1 (10.30am start).