Foxes through to Blast last eight
ACKERMANN SHOWS HIS CLASS WITH BAT AND BALL
THE all-round ability of captain Colin Ackermann has earned Leicestershire Foxes a place in the quarter finals of the Vitality Blast T20.
The Foxes needed to win their last two North Group games to have any chance of qualifying and did not disappoint, Ackermann’s skill with the bat proving decisive in the first game and his bowling tipping the balance in favour of his side in the second.
The weekend started brightly for Foxes, with Ackermann’s unbeaten 67 at the Fischer County Ground on Friday helping the hosts to end Nottinghamshire Outlaws’ unbeaten record at the top of North Group.
The match left the visiting side counting the cost of a controversial incident that handed their opponents the bonus of five penalty runs.
The Foxes completed their win with a ball to spare.
But the talking point was the decision by umpires Nick Cook and Paul Pollard to award them five extra runs in the first over of their reply as they chased a target of 163, invoking a change in the laws under which the fielding side can be penalised for deliberately distracting or deceiving the batsman on strike.
On this occasion, the umpires ruled that the Outlaws fielder Steven Mullaney had contravened this law by simulating the action of sliding and grabbing the ball in a way that, in their judgement, could have deceived the batsman, in this case opener Nick Welch.
It meant that Ackermann’s 53-ball innings, which contained five fours and a six, was enough to tilt the balance in favour of the Foxes, despite Mullaney making his mark with the ball by taking two for 17.
The Outlaws had earlier looked to be in control after Ben Duckett and Tom Moores put on 102 for the fourth wicket but neither man could add substantially to a half-century apiece, with Will Davis (3-38) dragging the Foxes back into contention after Callum Parkinson had earlier taken two for 27. Having won the toss and opted to bat first for only the second time in this year’s competition, the Outlaws did not have the powerplay they might have envisaged, registering a modest 42 runs and losing three key wickets, two of them for left-arm spinner Parkinson.
The Lancastrian dismissed Chris Nash with the last ball of the first over and claimed the significant scalp of Alex Hales with the fifth ball of the sixth.
In between, the in-form Joe Clarke bottom-edged into his stumps off Dieter Klein, having looked in ominous form again after launching the first two sixes of the evening off Klein and Gavin Griffiths.
On 69 for three at halfway, Nottinghamshire found some momentum when Moores provided some innovation in the 12th over, cracking Arron Lilley for six with an audacious switch hit followed by a scoop for four.
His partnership with Duckett added 102 in 12 overs, Moores completing a 34-ball half-century.
But the Foxes hit back through Davis and the Outlaws finished on 162-7.
Buoyed by the award of the five penalty runs in the first over, they overcame the early loss of Welch and Gareth Delany as Ackermann redressed the balance.
His unbeaten 67, along with some big hitting from Arron Lilley, helped to put the Foxes on course for victory. Callum Parkinson hit the winning run with one ball to spare.
Ackermann said: “The way the boys bounced back after two tough defeats really showed some character.
“The five penalty runs was massive in the context of the game. I’ve never come across it before but the rules are the rules.
“To get those extra five runs helped us a lot.”
The way the boys bounced back after two defeats really showed some character Colin Ackermann
YESTERDAY, it was a captain’s performance with the ball by Leicestershire Foxes’ Colin Ackermann that ensured his side completed their Vitality Blast North Group games on a high note as they defeated Lancashire Lightning by 22 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.
The victory earned the Foxes a place in the quarter finals as they edged out Central Group’s Birmingham Bears on net run rate.
The Foxes will meet Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge on October 1, while Lancashire play Sussex at Hove.
Ackermann took three for 18, all his wickets being taken in the same over, as the home side managed only 132 for 5 in reply to the Foxes’ 154 for 5, an effort that had included valuable 40s from both Nick Welch and Arron Lilley.
The main features of Leicestershire’s six Powerplay overs were the two sixes pulled to the long boundary by Welch off Saqib Mahmood and the three tight overs bowled by Luke Wood, who conceded just five runs in that exceptional spell.
Wood also took the wicket of Gareth Delany in the opening exchanges when the dangerous Irish batsman gloved an attempted pull to wicketkeeper Alex Davies, but Welch hit further sixes off Liam Livingstone and Matthew Parkinson, both strokes sailing over long-on, before he was caught for 43 at deep midwicket, Josh Bohannon taking a steepling catch off Livingstone.
Lancashire’s three spinners kept the scoring rate in check for much of the remainder of the Foxes innings and the visitors were indebted to Lilley’s 41-ball 49 for making sure they posted a defendable total on a used pitch.
Ackermann was run out by Davies’ direct hit for 29, although a much-needed further boost came when Leicestershire scored 18 runs off Saqib Mahmood’s last over of the innings, a nine-ball affair that included a wide, a no-ball and a free hit.
Four Lancashire bowlers took a wicket but Wood was not called upon to deliver his final over. Tom Hartley bowled impressively again, conceding only 18 runs from his three overs.
The home side’s innings began no more impressively than Leicestershire’s had. Liam Livingstone hit a couple of sixes off Callum Parkinson but was caught for 20 by Ackermann off Gavin Griffiths at mid-off to leave Lancashire on 38 for one at the end of the Powerplay. Lightning had lost no more wickets but still needed 87 when the final 10 overs of their innings began, a requirement which Davies and Steven Croft immediately sought to meet. Nevertheless, steady accumulation was all the pair could manage and 52 runs were still required off the final six overs of the innings. The 16th over transformed the game as Ackermann took three wickets. Croft was caught at deep backward square leg by Dieter Klein for 36 off the second ball, Davies was caught behind by Lewis Hill for a 48-ball 52 off the third and Bohannon was bowled for nought by the fifth.
Lancashire skipper Dane Vilas was caught at cover by Ackermann off Klein, also without scoring, off the second ball of the next over and Lancashire suddenly needed 40 off 18 balls.
This proved far beyond the home side’s later batsmen and the match ended almost in anti-climax with the outcome never seriously in doubt.
The start of Lancashire’s reply was delayed when the Emirates Old Trafford groundstaff used the heavy roller on the wicket between innings.
This is contrary to the regulations governing these games and umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and James Middlebrook had to inform the ECB before the game could continue.
Leicestershire coach, Paul Nixon, said: “I’m unbelievably proud. We’ve stood up against two high-class teams and a lot of international players in the last two games and we’ve done it.
“We executed our skills and plans very well today on a used pitch. I thought 155 to 160 was a good score.
“Arron Lilley played beautifully and those two sixes hit by Nick Welch were mammoth, considering they were hit into a strong wind.
“For us it’s about standing up and believing we can win against the big teams.
“So many times in the past we’ve crumbled but days like this all stem from our training and our determination.
“Today we were brilliant and I’m so delighted for everybody.”
For us it’s about standing up and believing we can win against the big teams Head coach Paul Nixon
Leicestershire Foxes, 154 for 5, beat Lancashire Lightning 132 for 5 by 22 runs