Sussex game will be the yardstick - McDonald

Leicestershire CCC Elite Performance Director Andrew McDonald believes Sussex will provide a measure of how much the Foxes have improved when the two counties meet in the Specsavers County Championship on Sunday.

County collected 13 points from a drawn match against Kent that was heavily affected by the weather this week, leaving McDonald’s side second in Division Two with a game in hand on leaders Essex.

It has been a solid start to the new campaign with 15 bonus points claimed out of a possible 16, two first innings scores recorded in excess of 400, and 32 wickets taken in 250.5 overs, but McDonald is not getting carried away.

Although he has been pleased with performances, McDonald has challenged his players to produce more of the same against a side that has been used to playing first division cricket.

“We ran out of time against Kent, but overall I was impressed with the way we backed up on our win against Glamorgan first time out,” said McDonald.

“We got ourselves into the driver’s seat, and I’m impressed with the style of cricket the guys are playing right now. Mark Cosgrove and Neil Dexter made magnificent and very positive centuries, enabling us to pass 400 in our first innings for the second successive match, and that’s the consistency we’re looking for.

“We had good patches at times last season, but you have to be consistent to give yourselves a chance. We’ve done that so far, the challenge now is to do it again against a side which has been playing mostly first division cricket in recent years.

“Everyone will see it as a yardstick, they’re probably the benchmark for the competition and no doubt we’ll go down there as underdogs, but we’re seeing a return for the work we’ve done. It’s no fluke that we’re moving forward.”

Batsman Neil Dexter, who scored a fine 131 on his home debut for the Foxes after his move from Middlesex, said the squad was looking forward to the trip to Hove.

“I see good signs here of a team coming together, playing selflessly, fighting for each other rather than just themselves,” said Dexter, who timed the ball well on both sides of the wicket this week.

“We’ve started reasonably well, but it’s very important we keep improving. Sussex have been a Division One team for a while and I’ve played against them a lot in recent years, They’re a tough team, they play hard cricket. The guys can't wait to get down there and see how they measure up."

Leicestershire’s 13-man squad shows a solitary change to the one named for the first two Specsavers County Championship matches of the season.

Zak Chappell is ruled out through injury and given Niall O’Brien hurt a finger during the game, Lewis Hill has been named as part of the squad rather than another bowler. Ned Eckersley remains on the sidelines, also with a finger injury.

Leics (from): Cosgrove (capt), Horton (vice capt), Robson, Dexter, Pettini, O’Brien, Ali, Hill, White, Raine, McKay, Naik, Shreck.