Rapids v Foxes Preview - 04.08.19

Leicestershire Foxes suffered their second Vitality Blast defeat at the hands of Durham Cricket in five days, and are now looking forward to a game at Worcestershire Rapids on Sunday.

The home side ran out winners by eight wickets on Wednesday after reaching the target of 143 set by the Foxes in the first innings with D'Arcy Short again coming to the fore.

Head Coach Paul Nixon spoke to Foxes TV following the game. He said: “We had a wonderful win against a high-class team at Notts, and we came here full of confidence.

“We practiced well on Tuesday, and we looked at the scores with 148 being a par score and five of our last eight games here have been won with a score of 148, so we knew we needed to be around there.

“There were a few highlights. I thought that Harry Swindells played nicely for his 29, he played some beautiful shots when he got in. He learnt from Notts, he hung in there today and found the boundary well.

“Colin Ackermann held the innings together with a wonderful fifty and without those two contributions we were disappointing. We took too many high risk options.”

The game was played in unusual conditions for the Foxes upon a hybrid wicket in the middle of a large outfield, whereas Leicestershire CCC have been accustomed to short boundaries at Grace Road.

Nixon said: “The hybrid wicket was new to us. It behaves a little bit differently. The guys struggled with it a bit and it was the first time we have played on one.

“It proved to be a little bit two-paced, some skidded on, and some stuck into the pitch for the spinners, and it made it quite tough.

“But ultimately they hit 13 boundaries in the powerplay and we didn't get anywhere near that.”

The Foxes look ahead to the upcoming fixture against reigning Vitality Blast champions Worcestershire Rapids as the Foxes make the trip to New Road on Sunday (Aug 4).

Leicestershire emerged victorious in the meeting of the two sides last year, with Gavin Griffiths taking the lead role with the ball on that occasion.

He said: “Scores can generally be a bit lower at Worcestershire, but if it is a belting pitch then it can be a 190 to 200 pitch – but we will see what we get from there.

“We have to lick our wounds, keep together and train well over the next few days. We have to come hard and deliver our skills well.

“We need to keep confident within ourselves, keep backing each other, practice well and be more ruthless in everything we do.”

Following the victory at Trent Bridge just six days ago, Nixon is keen that his Foxes keep a hold of the confidence and momentum gained from that game. 

He said: “We know that when we are playing well we are a force to be reckoned with. We have got cricketers individually who are quality players, and at the moment we are just not making enough quality decisions and executing enough.

“The spirit is good in the camp; we have good people in the camp and we are all rallying round together. We are in a rebuilding stage and we will get there.”

Nixon has named an unchanged 13-man squad for the game at Blackfinch New Road, with Ben Mike and Chris Wright again in contention.

Leicestershire Foxes (from 13): Ackermann (capt), Aadil, Cosgrove, Davis, Dearden, Hill (wk), Griffiths, Klein, Lilley, Mike, Parkinson, Swindells, Wright.

* The Foxes head to Worcestershire on Sunday (August 4) as they look to get back to winning ways in the Vitality Blast.