Hoggard demands Leics improvement

By Paul Bolton

Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard wants his side to put to bed the disappointment of their mauling by Nottinghamshire in their opening match in their defence of the Friends Life t20 title.

The Foxes were dismissed for 96, their lowest-ever Twenty20 total, on a pitch that produced a low-quality contest for the television cameras.

And with six fewer group matches this season, Leicestershire have little margin for error if they are to progress to the knockout stages again.

“It is going to be a challenge. Nobody has won the title more than once, apart from ourselves, and nobody has won it back-to-back, so it is a massive ask,” Hoggard said.

"But we have said that if we get on a good run then we can do it again. We just have to put this game to bed and have to be properly prepared when we play Lancashire on Friday. There is a lot for us to learn from this game.

"The wicket did a little bit and we didn't adapt quickly enough. We thought 150 might be a defendable total but it wasn't a 96 all-out pitch and that didn't put any pressure on them when they batted.

"We didn't hit the gaps well enough and push hard for twos. When you get a bit of pressure you have to step back and think what are good cricket shots and what is needed to get a defendable score. We didn't do that well enough."


Date: 13/06/2012 23:02:08 by Paul Bolton
In: Today | Leicestershire |