Cosgrove may not get chance to say farewell to team-mates
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS COULD STOP AUSSIE’S RETURN
LEICESTERSHIRE’S cricketers have been unaffected by the local lockdown on the city, according to county head coach Paul Nixon.
Members of the Foxes’ first-team squad have begun to return to training at the Fischer County Ground in preparation for the season starting on August 1.
However, one player who may not be seen back at the ground this season is batsman Mark Cosgrove.
The 36-year-old Australian lefthander joined County in 2015, but is out of contract at the end of the season and, due to travel restrictions, may not get the chance to return to make his farewells.
Training restrictions on contact mean that initially only sessions involving a single player and a coach can take place in a net set up on the outfield at Fischer County Ground.
“That means bowling coach Tom Smith working with the seamers on an individual basis as we try and prepare their bodies for what is likely to be a lot of bowling in a short time, even if we play mainly white ball cricket,” said Nixon, right.
The first-class counties are set to meet this week to agree on the formats that will be played for a truncated season, lasting for about ten weeks, with the ECB set to announce a new schedule thereafter.
“After temperature checks both at home and on arrival at the ground, the seamers are coming in for individual sessions firstly in the gym with strength and conditioning coach Alex Carrie, and then out in the middle with Tom,” said Nixon. “Unfortunately we still can’t use the Indoor Cricket Centre, even for one-to-one sessions, which is a bit frustrating as we’d obviously be able to increase the amount of time we could work with individual players, but that’s how it is.
“However if all goes well, the third week in July should see us finally being able to train together as a group. That won’t leave long before the season starts, but to be honest everybody is so desperate to play we’ll make the best of any circumstances.”
With only six members of the current first-team squad currently under contract for next season, Nixon said new contract offers had been made to a number of players.
“We’re hoping to have some good news to announce in that respect shortly, though unfortunately a couple of guys now know they’re not going to be offered a new deal as we look to 2021 and beyond,” he said.
“We’ll also be serving several ‘28 day notices’ on good players coming to the end of their contracts with other counties, whom we intend to approach because we think they could do well for us.”
Off the field, County chairwoman Mehmooda Duke has applauded the ECB’s pledge to urgently address the issue of diversity in cricket. Ms Duke, the first female chair in the history of county cricket, said: “LCCC is at the heart of a diverse city and we are already at the forefront of the journey to make cricket more accessible to all. “We have representation from the BAME community on our board, with three people taking up roles.
“Our academy, comprising our most talented and gifted young players, currently has six players from a BAME background. “Our hopes are to keep a good pipeline of talent from diverse backgrounds and see those players make the step into First XI cricket.
“We have a fantastic role model in [former LCCC player and current spin coach] Jigar Naik for that.
“Everyone with talent should be able to see a route into the game and this is a big part of our strategy to strengthen our Training Academy.
“We want to empower young cricket talent to think about the role and the contribution they make as an individual and judged on merit – never gender or race.
“We are always looking for ways to learn, and improve the ways in which the needs of a more diverse audience can be met.
“Change needs to be made possible at every level to demonstrate a true commitment to diversity.”
Leicestershire has benefited from substantial funding through the ECB’s South Asian Core Cities Funding in recent years, with a clear remit to increase the number of individuals aged 14-plus who participate in cricket-related activities.
This is part of the ECB’s South Asian Action Plan, launched in 2018, to ensure cricket engages more effectively with South Asian communities at every level of the game.
LCCC’s “Bolly Cric-Hit” programme has encouraged more south Asian females to take part in Women’s Softball Festivals and the Women’s indoor cricket leagues.
Overall, BAME representation within the Leicestershire Pathway has increased from 27 per cent in 2018 to 35 per cent in 2019 to 37 per cent this year.