Northants won by 6 wickets
Mark Cosgrove held up Northamptonshire as their promo hopes faded – not that it mattered to numerous in The Meet at Grace Road
Viewers take in the promo newest in The Meet – David Hopps/ESPNcricinfo
Northants 202 (Proctor 82, Raine 5-54) and 17 for 0 require an additional 180 to beat Leicestershire 128 and 270 (Cosgrove 80, Kerrigan 4-62)
It was promo crunch time in Division Two, however in The Meet café and bar, which has actually fed and watered Leicestershire fans for a life time, there was little indication of increasing stress. Every Northants fielder should have been desperate for news from Hove, while their promo competitors Nottinghamshire were staging a healing, however in The Meet no one was visibly inspecting ratings on their cellphone. Presuming they had actually kept in mind to bring one.
In other places in the cricketing ether, implications were gone over on cricket blog sites, or bursts of enjoyment were launched onto Twitter. The occupants of The Meet have actually seen promo seasons come and go and the world has actually not significantly been any much better or worse for it. The days when promo and transfer did not exist appear like just the other day. In Leicestershire, who had some great years in the one-divisional structure a generation earlier, such an egalitarian set-up is doubtless seen fondly.
The Meet has actually seen it all too. This basically awful structure (albeit skilfully tarted up under the most recent management) has actually two times been carried from previous Leicestershire premises in the days when every cent counted.
Still, looking sagely into the mid-distance did have its destinations for the citizens of The Meet. Mark Cosgrove remained in the later phases of a wonderful 80 from 139 balls, enough for Leicestershire to reach 270 and set Northants 197 for triumph. Leicestershire are seeking their very first win, however Northants needs to swing into action to the run chase in the hope of a disastrous last day for Nottinghamshire. There is factor to see out the season on the last day.
Cosgrove, the Australian left-hander, is among the unappreciated thrills of the county circuit. He has actually generated 1,000 top-notch runs in each of the last 3 seasons, a consistent alleviation throughout tough times. When he is not bullying the ball from his existence with effective pulls or releasing his arms for fulsome drives, he likewise has a noticeably fragile touch. Northants may have embraced the label of “The Chubsters”, however Cosgrove is “King Chubster”, a gamer of heft and quality. A gamer of global pedigree.
Even with Cosgrove on strike, it was appealing to stride into the middle of The Meet and exclaim: “But do not you understand what's taking place at Hove?” Leicestershire setting up batting resistance versus Northants on the other side of the window was just half the story. On the south coast, Harry Gurney, who made his top-notch launching for Leicestershire 10 years ago – and versus Northants to boot,
