We’ll put heat on Foxes with our power, says Levi

WHEN the pressure is on Northamptonshire thrive, and batsman Richard Levi has sent a clear warning to Leicestershire.

The One-Day Cup has brought a mixed bag for the NatWest T20 Blast champs, with defeats to Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Durham mixed with a thrilling victory against Lancashire and tie with Worcestershire.

Levi scored 242 runs in their first four matches, and their batting has generally impressed – with that firstgame disaster against the Bears, where the Steelbacks were skittled for just 151, the only match of their first five in which they failed to score at least 272.

Middle-order powerhouse Adam Rossington has also impressed, meaning head coach David Ripley knows there are no problems in the top half of his team.

And Levi is expecting a strong finish to their campaign even if they cannot progress to the knock-out stages.

“Last year we were a bit more consistent than this year but we play well under pressure,” he said.

“Adam Rossington has also played unbelievably well, he’s striking the ball better than we’ve ever seen and he puts teams under pressure from ball one.”

Like Northants, Leicestershire’s campaign has failed to match its early hype, with defeats to Notts and Durham undoing a strong start of two wins in their first three games.