After the 2004 season brought highs and lows, Leicestershire will be hoping for more of the former for 2005.
The County found success by winning the 20/20 final in sensational style versus Surrey at Edgbaston but this did not disguise the fact that they dissapointed in other competitions. Only Brad Hodge and Darren Robinson passed 1,000 runs in the championship and the county's batting was not at its strongest. The bowling department found much success with Ottis Gibson proving a revelation and also Claude Henderson being a great success.
The biggest blow at the end of the season was when Brad Hodge decided to leave the club and sign for Lancashire. Hodgie had a fantastic season in all forms of cricket and will be a massive loss. Also leaving the county staff were Jon Dakin, Damian Brandy, George Walker and most surprisingly of all Darren Stevens. Stevo didn't have the best of seasons but it was really sad to see him go as he is a Leicester lad and has undoubted talent and his attractive hard hitting style will be sorely missed. After his release from the club, Darren signed a contract with Kent, who may see the benefit of him blossoming into the top class cricketer that he can be.
As far as replacements go, the signs have been encouraging. South African HD Ackerman has signed under the Kolpak ruling and takes over from Hodge as county captain. Ackerman is a vastly experienced captain and a very capable batsman and gives the county the specialist skipper that they have lacked for a number of years. Indian one day star Dinesh Mongia was signed to replace Hodge and coincidentally, Mongia had a fantastic spell with Lancashire last season and alot will be expected from him with the bat as well as providing another option with his spin bowling. Aftab Habib has returned to the club from Essex and will be hoping to recapture the form that made him a great success at Grace Road in the past. Unfortunately, Aussie fast bowler Mark Cleary was unable to return to the club this season because of a back injury but James Whitaker moved swiftly to replace him with South African seamer Charl Willoughby. On the recommendation of former team mate HD Ackerman, Willoughby will provide extra experience in the pace department. The Leicestershire youth academy has produced two new professionals for this season. 19 year old batsmen Matt Boyce and 18 year old all rounder Stuart Broad, son of former England and Nottinghamshire batsman Chris Broad.
The County open the season with a championship match versus Durham at Grace Road on Wednesday 13th April. Durham will prove a much stronger opposition than in the past as they have managed to assemble a talented squad with a mixture of home grown talent and experienced foreign players. Their two new overseas signings are as impressive as any on the county circuit. Former Northants skipper Mike Hussey is a brilliant batsmen and there is no doubt that he will be one of the top run scorers in all competitions by the end of the season. Former Middlesex fast bowler Ashley Noffke fills the second overseas berth and he has an equally impressive track record and also provides a real batting option. Former South African international, Dale Benkenstein has recently signed under the Kolpak ruling, and although mainly a batsman he can be an effective medium pace bowler in a similar mould to Darren Maddy. Another 'foreign' signing for Durham is Aussie medium pacer Callum Thorp, who qualifies as a domestic player through family links to the north east. The list of the clubs home grown talent makes for impressive reading. Mark Davies had a great season with the ball last season and would have surely been one of the leading first class wicket takers had it not been for injury. Gordon Muchall fell just short of 1,000 championship runs last year and will be keen to carry on in 2005 where he left off in 2004. A find for Durham last season was West Indian Gareth Breese, who does not count as an overseas player. A genuine all rounder, Breese provided some great knocks as well as taking his fair share of wickets with his spin bowling. Add to this the quality of England players Paul Collingwood and Steve Harmison and the ever consistent seam bowling of Neil Killeen, then you can see why optimism and confidence is sky high at Chester-le-Street.
So Leicestershire face a tough task for the season opener but confidence is high at Grace Road too and as long as the weather stays good then it should make for an interesting battle.
