Zorrovolpe

Couldn't agree more over Kimber. He wouldn't have been an automatic pick (for me) in the T20 side, let alone as captain. He seems to have enormous credit in the bank with the coaches, but as you say, his recent form has been dismal. What is someone like Trevaskis going to make of this...? If people start to think that a meritocracy is being bypassed, that's damaging in any environment. For me, this is the only worry in what's otherwise been an impressive start by the team this season.

Quite a good move to put Lancs in, if you look at the weather forecast. Anyone batting first is likely to have the disruption of rain breaks, whereas whoever bats second is likely to see the best of the conditions (Saturday p.m. and Sunday).

I think this is right in terms of a declaration. If the likes of Mike and Scriven can score at this rate on this pitch, you don't want Jewell and Lloyd reaching 100 for none after the first 15 overs. It's a fair tactic to extinguish any hope that Derby have of a victory and then see if they can withstand 85+ overs.

I'd take a draw right now with those line-ups. Snap your hand off for it, though we need much more.

Enjoyed Loughborough Students dispatching Corby yesterday. Corby arrived with the usual visitors' approach of trying to bully the Scholars off the ball, but couldn't cope when Loughborough's youngsters got to grips with them and went up a gear. I can't get very interested in Loughborough Dynamo any more since the voluntary (and controversial) relegation, but the Students are capable of some good passing football and seem well drilled by ex-Foxes 'favourite' Jamie Clapham.

I've only been able to buy an online ticket for this by using a brand new laptop. I had tried and failed with older laptops and an Android phone (3, 6, and 4 yrs old respectively). When I clicked on the relevant sector, the pitch image and the itemized seating layout weren't loading. I don't know if anyone else has found this too.

Abysmal. The batting is packed with experience, but only Budinger managed to maintain a decent strike rate (for what was a very reachable Surrey total).

Loughborough Dynamo v Anstey Nomads tomorrow, 3 p.m. Massive credit to both clubs for their performances this season - both currently in playoff places. Looking forward to some lithe, acrobatic, goalkeeping athleticism from Lewis King and Conrad Logan . Two teams who have done Leicestershire proud this season... unlike certain others... so please come down if you live locally. As others on this thread have said, if you need something to rekindle your enthusiasm for football, non-league is the ideal solution.

You can bet that some scrote will try their luck with short pitched stuff though, given the sort of opposition behaviour Leics have faced in recent years. The umpires (and Leics) will quickly need to be on top of this rules-wise.

England should at least delay the start of the series until Bashir gets his visa - which would mean scrapping the first test and maybe more. England's team selection shouldn't be affected by a number of people behaving like tw@ts.

Haircut 100 were excellent in last year's tour, because their musicianship has gone up several notches over the past 40 years. This event sounds a decent initiative by the club (depending on who the other bands are...).

I'd never buy a membership on principle. But, having a booking history, I've been contacted once or twice this calendar year about tickets being available. However, having then downloaded the lengthy document about mobile ticketing, I've given up at that point. For the past 30 years or so, I would go to 3-4 games a year when back in Leics, but not now.

This will be Enzo translating literally into English - in Italian "corretto" can imply "sporting" or "appropriate", so in his view the celebration was "unsporting" / "inappropriate".

Yes, the sort of role which - it was naively hoped - Lilley was supposed to fulfil. As well as his kamikaze batting, Lilley had the fielding dexterity and interpersonal skills of Bernard Manning. So at least Ben Mike will be an upgrade in those two areas.

Quite lucky to be getting a 3-yr deal (but then again, if someone like George Rhodes got one... 🙄) on the basis of a good breakthrough season at Leics and a decent concluding one. But as mentioned above, everything hinges on him becoming a more economical bowler. In isolation, I'm not sure that either his batting or his bowling is good enough to displace any existing squad member in any format (though there may be room for a competent pinch hitter in T20).

A brilliant season from Loughborough Dynamo so far, top of the table, well drilled and enjoyable to watch. At home against Lye Town tomorrow, so please come and support them if you are in the Loughborough area or have Loughborough connections. They really deserve better attendances than 150-200-ish.

Yes, really pleased with the progress that Rishi Patel is making, and great to see some hundreds under his belt now. The next addition to his skillset needs to be the ability to scrape together ugly 30s-40s in moments of adversity for the team, rather than contribute to collapses with single figure failures (Budinger too). This means evaluating conditions quickly and adapting his game. In that context, it's good that Evans has signed a new contract. There were times last season - very decent though it was - when I wished someone had dropped anchor for an hour, instead of us being next-to-nothing for 3. Maybe Budinger and Patel will both benefit from the competition.

Many thanks for the reminder about this gem. I found the video on YouTube, and it's delightful - especially Sinead's smile as Terry Hall starts singing, a kind of "wow-is-this-really-happening?" moment.

Totally agree with you about non-league games. I've been going to Loughborough Dynamo for a while, and it's easier to develop a genuine connection with clubs like that. Though I've followed Leicester for over 45 years, I can no longer be arsed with sky-high prices, memberships, mobile tickets, etc, and the general sense of being taken for granted.

Well done to Sam and Harry. Points proved to management in the most emphatic of ways. Questions should be asked if they don't both start the final two fixtures. Budinger needs time out now to work on his game; currently he's not even at squad level for the CC, let alone the first XI.

Memorable overall contribution from Ben Mike today

Not sure that Trafford - at this early stage of his career - is what we would have needed. Recently he was at Accrington on loan; he certainly had presence and attitude in spades, and thought he should have been automatic first choice. But he lost his place because of inconsistency and the loan was not renewed. A bit of a risk for a Premier League / upper Championship side to be starting him, I would say.

What's the general consensus on Budinger so far? I'm concerned that he's not adapting his game (or being coached enough to adapt his game) to the 4-day format. Yesterday's "effort" put us on the back foot from the start (we really needed an Azad yesterday). One useful innings in 7 or 8 isn't really enough (remember the back of last season too). These flashy 20s/30s, then out after 5-6 overs, would not be much use in 50 over games either. There's talent there, obviously, but how long should LCCC persist with this "that's the way I roll" approach?

Great signing - recruitment markedly on the up. As for his language error, most people will have issues with alliteration in their 2nd/3rd languages (assuming they are actually capable of speaking more than one), so we'll let him off that one, I think.