Nixon previews Northamptonshire

Leicestershire CCC head into their next game with Northamptonshire CCC in the Specsavers County Championship on the back of a hard-fought draw at the Fischer County Ground against Gloucestershire CCC.

The Foxes posted a first innings score of 487 which Gloucestershire CCC not only matched, but bettered, going on to post 571 and subsequently taking a lead of 84 into the second innings.

County put on a partnership of 211 which included centuries from openers Paul Horton and Hassan Azad in order to earn a result from the fixture.

With the 11 points in the bag, Head Coach Paul Nixon spoke about the result, which featured big scores and partnerships in both innings.

He said: “First innings runs in particular are crucial and the record 320-run partnership between Hassan [Azad] and Neil [Dexter] against Gloucestershire was everything we wanted. 

“Hass’s passion for runs and hunger and determination to stay out there and frustrate the opposing bowlers adds so much depth to our batting, softening up the ball for the middle order to come in and make hay.

“It was a tough game for the groundsmen to prepare a wicket. Fair play to [Head Groundsman] Andy Ward and his team, who have worked very hard over the last ten days to produce a belting wicket.

“They have done us proud to get us out there on a hard surface because this place was underwater a few days ago. We thank them a lot.

“We have to look at getting wickets in the middle period of the game. Muhammad Abbas and Chris Wright bowled beautifully, and Diets [Dieter Klein] mopped the tail up, but they dug in deep. Chris Dent batted brilliantly and Ryan Higgins then came in and played very well.”

The Foxes face Northamptonshire CCC on Monday, who are yet to pick up a win in the Specsavers County Championship. Nixon is keen to take the positives into the game and is aware of the challenge that is in store.

He said: “We take confidence from our batting. We have scored four hundreds in a game which is outstanding, especially when we did not have any this year before going into the game.

“It has given us great confidence. We look at 200-ball challenges and a couple of guys have spent more than 200 balls out in the middle which is just what you need as a batting unit. Generally, Wantage Road is a good batting pitch, it is generally bouncier and quicker.

“We know that it is about momentum and they have struggled a little bit. They have been more successful in white ball cricket than they have in red ball cricket, so they have very positive attacking cricketers and we have got to make sure that we keep the momentum going forward.

“Northamptonshire have had a little bit of a break with Australia A, England and West Indies having been there using their facilities.

“They have used a lot of trialists and have had a few guys on loan. We need another win and have been close on a couple of occasions.”

Leicestershire CCC (from 14): Horton (capt), Abbas, Ackermann, Azad, Cosgrove, Davis, Dearden, Dexter, Griffiths, Hill (wk), Klein, Parkinson, Taylor, Wright.

* The Foxes enter the final straight of a batch of Specsavers County Championship fixtures before the 2019 Vitality Blast campaign gets underway. They travel to Northamptonshire tomorrow.