Skipper's delight with Ali progress

By Dominic Toner

Club Captain Mark Cosgrove was full of praise for 20-year-old batsman Aadil Ali following his 42 off 198 balls that helped guide Leicestershire to their LV=County Championship victory over Derbyshire.

Cosgrove was thrilled with Ali’s response to the game situation in which he altered his batting style to aid the team.

“To go out there and concentrate for nearly 200 balls was fantastic for him and he is growing as a cricketer and as a person,” said Cosgrove.

“If you look at the way he plays the game he is normally free flowing and scores quite quickly but he just knuckled down and batted well.”

It is easy to forget that this was only Ali’s third first-class match and he remains someone for the Foxes fans to keep an eye on.

Following the three-wicket victory against Derbyshire, Cosgrove is confident that his young side are progressing.

He said: “We always believe we are going in the right direction and we have deserved some more wins along the way.

“We’ve been working pretty hard on our four-day stuff and we’ve seen some good improvements. To get over the line in a game like this just tells you that you’re on the right path.”

There were several other key contributions to the Foxes success with Niall O’Brien making two half-centuries in the game and Clint McKay starring with bat and ball.

Cosgrove said: “The way Clint bowled was great. It was coming out nearly as quick as he has been all year and getting the wickets just after tea on the third day really blew the game open. It gave us a target that we could chase down.

“Aadil and Nobby (Niall O’Brien) batted fantastically in that first session to really blunt their bowlers. Aadil looked so solid and that allowed Nobby to go out there and just play his natural game. It worked really well for us.”