Both teams in shock as Foxes fall to 43 all out
STEVE RHODES was not the only person shaking his head in disbelief after Leicestershire’s extraordinary secondinnings slump.
It was just as hard for those with Leicestershire connections to comprehend, the more so because the Foxes had batted so well in their previous Championship matches this season.
While the pitch certainly deteriorated on the second and third days, cricket liaison officer Graham Cowdrey said that he had no concerns and Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove said that his team had only themselves to blame – though outstanding bowling from seamers Matt Henry (four for 27) and Joe Leach (four for 10) also had plenty to do with the Foxes’ lowest ever score against Worcestershire.
The previous lowest was 52, made in 1965. Leicestershire’s total was also the lowest championship score since Essex were skittled for 20 by Lancashire at Chelmsford in 2013.
Cosgrove said:“If you look at the wickets which fell, not many were directly down to the pitch.Very few, in fact. There was definitely a bit of panic. We weren’t on our game, and we played the sort of cricket we don’t want to play and haven’t played all season.”
Director of elite performance Andrew McDonald said: “What happened was inexcusable. I think in the innings there were only two balls that really misbehaved. The fact is they played the game with an intensity which we didn’t match.
“We were in control at the end of the first day, but we let them back into the match on day two, and if you let a good side back into a contest they can put you under real pressure. Worcestershire did that and full credit to them.
“It’s a setback, but it needs to be looked at in the context of the season as a whole. We had a good discussion after the match and we know, and anyone who’s seen anything of us this season knows, that’s not where we’re at.”
Worcestershire were delighted to have recorded their first Championship victory of the season after director of cricket Rhodes acknowledged that they had been wrong to exercise the away team’s right to bowl first. “To win in such a convincing way was amazing really, the bowling and fielding was outstanding and I’m very proud of the boys,” he said.
“We were ready to chase around 250, but it would have been very difficult. You have to give so much credit to Matt and Joe, and they were backed up by some great fielding (both run-outs in Leicestershire’s second innings resulted from direct hits) and catching.”
But Rhodes and Leach admitted that they were surprised by Leicestershire’s approach to their second innings. “I thought Leicestershire would attack us a little bit more, but they sort of dug themselves into a hole,” said Rhodes. “We were always going to be very aggressive when we batted second time around, and that approach paid off.”
Leach, who recorded careerbest match figures of nine for 109 after a quiet first day, said:“I actually feel I didn’t bowl that badly on day one – a couple of chances went down, a couple of decisions weren’t given. But that’s cricket: you wake up on day two and everything went for me.
“The batters did brilliantly to get us up to 274 in our first innings, that was key, because the pitch was deteriorating.
“We don’t know what they were thinking when they came out to bat second time. The pitch certainly did deteriorate, but from a bowler’s point of view it was refreshing to play on a pitch which did a bit, we’ve played on some pretty flat things up to now. It certainly wasn’t a 43 all out pitch.”