MaidstoneFox

Be interesting to see who turns out for the seconds. You have these lads who are too old for the under-18s but not ready for the first team yet. Jay Madan was very promising and Dean's son, Raiffe Headley.

He played for Northants in '23, not sure what he's done since, but he was someone who could probably earn a lot more outside of cricket.

Leicester lass

Seems odd in retrospect. But I suppose the thinking is that they have 4 bowlers injured, all of whom would have played above Wood and Singh, but how long are they all out for and what if another bowler goes down injured this game, then we need cover. Not sure there was enough time to sign a bowler on loan, or whether other div 1 clubs will loan us players now we are in the same division. Worc have just loaned Hannon-Dalby, who would have been good for us, but that is div 1 to div 2.

They are well coached, have some good young players and Unadkat will be useful when he arrives. Our bowling attack was just not strong enough for this game, which in turn has put the batters under pressure. It's not a 350+ pitch. If we had bowled them out for 250 first innings, we would have been in the game, but we are basically trying to compete in this match with two bowlers who aren't at the required standard. Losing Handscomb, is a big blow as well; aside from his captaincy, he steadies the middle order if we lose early wickets.

In theory yes, but you can't rely on those four all season or that Hull will get his radar right. The good thing about Van Beek last season was that he took the new ball and ran in every game, which also allowed Ben Green to bowl dry with the older ball. Hopefully Ajaz Patel will be about to control the scoring rate and take wickets when the pitches start to dry out. - I think that was the original thinking with signing Maharaj.

Even with everyone fit we look a quality bowler short at this level.

Still jet-lagged probably!

I assume we couldn't get someone in on loan. Hope we don't regret not getting an overseas seamer.

Singh looks like a league bowler on the evidence so far.

Looks borderline to me. Would scream like an alley cat and scratch your back to ribbons, then throw all your stuff out the window for no reason.

Jamie Dunk named in teh Scotland A squad to play Jersey next month. Not sure if he's still on out books this season?

The Cricketer reports he's been signed, but we don't know when he'll be available from. Ian Holland most likely candidate to be captain. Kelly was coming anyway for the last 6 matches in September when Handscomb would have gone home.

More seriously though it's going to have an impact on people's pension investments, especially if it continues and the long term effects become more accentuated. First world problems I know.

That might well happen. Part of me is thinking that this is all part of a very expensive operation to screw the rest of the world because of their greater reliance on energy from that part of the world. Up until this point stock markets outside of America had done pretty well, now the FTSE 100 has lost all it's gains this year and we are looking at energy hikes, mortgage rate increases and reduced growth across the globe. But he's surely not that vindicative is he...?

My brother's girlfriend used to work on the desk next to him when they both worked at the Daily Telegraph. He was apparently, always late on his deadlines and always down the pub or at some function. Desk was an absolute tip.

He should be wearing a press helmet if he's reporting that close to a conflict zone. Lyse Doucet shows how he should be kitted out.

Not to be sniffed at, a few years ago we were losing these student games. Seam attack looks awesome if Hull and Green are making hoped for improvements.

I agree, but Starmer hasn't got the political instincts and only takes a stance once he's waded through all the evidence in his lawyer-like approach. A different leader like Raynor or Burnham would show more initiative and seize opportunities.

I believe it's because they changed the vaccinations in 2015 to cover this 'B' strain. So all these students were born before 2015 and therefore aren't covered. We have a son who is isn't covered by his vaccinations, but a daughter who is. Hopefully it's contained in East Kent, there's been no reported cases over here in West Kent. Meningitis is quite scary as it takes affect so quickly.

Interesting article. Looks like he's still in a place where he hasn't decided what to do and the door is still open to playing cricket if a county comes calling. Probably being in Leicester is also better for future opportunities.

Leicestershire batting first this morning against Leeds/Bradford Uni. Ben Green is captain.

We have for a long time needed more quality, rent-controlled housing provided by cooperative groups or housing associations. It's too important an issue just to be left to the market. And how you fare in the housing market is often so down to circumstance and luck. Two of my cousins (taxi driver and hairdresser by trade) are millionaires, purely because their parents happened to buy a terrace house in Fulham in the early 1960s, with no idea what it might be worth one day. My dad could have gone to the same part of London at the time but chose Leicester instead.

The batting depth is excellent once again with Davey at number 10. First class average of just over 20, not that much less than Louis Kimber's

Further update from The Cricketer about the ground redevelopment: Plans for an ambitious redevelopment at Leicestershire have been put on ice by the arrival of a new chief executive. The club raised eyebrows three years ago when they unveiled plans for a £60million redevelopment of the Upton Steel County Ground at Grace Road. For a club with a turnover under £6m a year, almost 70 per cent of which comes from the ECB's distribution, it seemed a mighty optimistic project. Certainly, Emma White, who took over as CEO of Leicestershire at the end of last season, admits the plan is not on her agenda at present. And while she doesn't rule out looking at it again at some stage, she admits that it is likely to be "fairly far in the future". "There's a lot of tradition, and there's a lot of loyalty to Grace Road," White told The Cricketer. "And I've seen different sports clubs in the past that have moved away from their tradition and their loyalty and a little bit of their fan base as well. They've built a brand new spangly stadium that nobody goes to. "If we were selling out every match, I would be banging the boardroom door down saying, 'Guys, we've got to do something, because I'm leaving money on the street here from people who can't get in'. "But I am not there yet. When I get there - because for me, it's definitely a 'when' in certain formats of cricket - then that's a conversation that we would have. But it's not a conversation for now. "I wouldn't say it [the ground redevelopment] has been chucked off the table altogether. But it's for fairly far in the future." In January 2025, Leicestershire appointed sport financing firm Pinto Capital to help them with funding options to accelerate plans around the redevelopment and help with the financing of the women's side, who they hope can achieve tier one status by 2029. Leicestershire could have used their share of income from The Hundred team sales to partially fund such a redevelopment. But, apart from clearing the club's debt (which was around £2.5m), White is in no hurry to spend the money and is happy to allow interest to build. So, the club refurbished some of their conference facilities from their own funds - bookings are up 30 per cent as a result - and are now looking to "be much more financially sustainable" before making any decisions as to how to spend the "once in a lifetime chunk of money". "We need to be much more financially sustainable, so a little bit more stable, before we launch into whatever we do next to future-proof cricket at Leicestershire," White said. "I think you would have to be a bit bonkers business-wise to chuck a lot more money at it. We need to grow the commercial income and start to stand on our own two feet a little bit. And then we give ourselves time to use that money really wisely. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chunk of money. We don't want to waste it."