Leicestershire's potential is plain to see

BOB WILLIS TROPHY PREVIEW: They might not have been among the strong advocates for red-ball cricket in the time of coronavirus, but the Foxes have a young squad capable of making an impact

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Ins: George Rhodes (Worcestershire), Alex Evans

Outs: Neil Dexter, Ateeq Javid, Aadil Ali

Fixtures: August 1 - Lancashire (h), August 8 - Derbyshire (h), August 15 - Durham (a), August 22 - Nottinghamshire (h), September 6 - Yorkshire (a)

Remind me what happened last year?

A difficult year for Paul Nixon’s side, who won only once in their County Championship campaign of 2019. There were positives in the shape of Hassan Azad, who made 1,189 runs at an average of 54.04 and faced 2,860 deliveries in the process. He was an ever-present for Leicestershire, passing fifty on 11 occasions out of 26.

With the ball, Chris Wright – a veteran these days – took 47 wickets in leading the attack; he was the only member of the bowling cartel to play every game.

What’s happened over the winter?

South African batsman Janneman Malan was signed as the club’s overseas player for this season, replacing Mohammad Abbas, who had been due to join Nottinghamshire ahead of the coronavirus pandemic.

Closer to home, meanwhile, Colin Ackermann is the club’s new captain across all formats. The 28-year-old was already the skipper for the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast. But the Foxes have confirmed that he will replace Paul Horton and lead the team in red-ball cricket as well.

“Nico [coach Paul Nixon] approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to do it, and obviously it was an easy decision for me,” Ackermann said in March.

“Paul Horton did a fantastic job over the last two years. He led the team very well but his job is not finished just yet, I will still lean on him for advice throughout the season as well as Chris Wright and Mark Cosgrove, the other senior players in the team.”

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Who’s arrived and who’s left?

Off-spinning allrounder George Rhodes joined on loan before the end of last season, but is now at Grace Road permanently.

How Leicestershire replace the wickets of Mohammad Abbas will be intriguing, though Ben Mike looks a solid prospect, while Alex Evans has signed a first professional contract.

Who will be the key men in 2020?

To a degree, new chief executive Sean Jarvis might be as important as anyone at Leicestershire this year. The former Huddersfield Town commercial director has spoken with a bullish optimism about the county’s future since coming into the role – he wants to see a return of the Oakham Cricket Festival.

“I'm a massive fan of the Scarborough Festival and don't see why we shouldn't be ambitious and aim to emulate it,” he said.

“The connections between Leicestershire and Oakham School are well-established, there's a fine new pavilion, the pitches are very good, and as long as we build the right way it could be incredibly successful.”

On the field, much of the expectation will fall on Azad to repeat last year’s work, while there are high hopes for Callum Parkinson, Hary Swindells and Harry Dearden.

Ackermann averaged upwards of 34 in last year’s County Championship, and so Nixon will want him – at the very least – to repeat that feat.

What can we expect from this team this season?

Given the struggles of last season, the coming weeks might just give Leicestershire a chance to build up ahead of steam. The nature of momentum is such that a five-game group stage could offer teams the opportunity to get on a roll. Nixon and Ackermann will be hoping that’s the case, in any case.

We await confirmation on where the club’s first two fixtures will take place. Well beyond Leicestershire, there will be several eyes on Azad to see if the left-hander is capable of backing up his fine 2019.

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