2005 Review
The year 2005 for Leicestershire was filled with inconsistency but the emergence of some exciting youngsters gives the supporters grounds for optimism for 2006.
New faces came in the form of HD Ackerman, the returning Aftab Habib and new overseas players Dinesh Mongia and Charl Willoughby. South African Ackerman signed under the Kolpak ruling and was swiftly appointed as the new county captain and went on to enjoy personal success by achieving 1000+ runs in the championship and scoring freely in one day competitions and the 20/20. Habib, after a slow start which culminated in him losing his place in the team, ended the season in form and somewhere near back to his best performances in his previous spell with the Foxes. Indian one day specialist Mongia never really excelled but did show glimpses of his talent, especially in the 20/20 and in particular with his effective spin bowling. Springbok and former test player Willoughby, struggled to take wickets, but he also showed glimpses of class with a six wicket haul against Somerset in the C&G being his most notable performance.
The Championship season was disappointing with the County finishing second bottom of Division 2 with only local rivals Derbyshire below them. Darren Robinson once again surpassed 1000 championship runs for the second successive year and apart with Ackerman was the only consistent run scorer. John Sadler would have scored more runs if it had not been for collar bone injury sustained from a Brett Lee bouncer in the tourist match versus Australia but Darren Maddy, although impressive in one day matches, will be looking for igger runs in the championship. Australian Chris Rogers, who signed a short term deal with the club in the absense of Dinesh Mongia, played one of the finest innings ever seen at Grace Road with a double ton against his Australian countryman. In fact it was a major disappointment when Chris left the club after only two weeks due to Mongia's return.
Bowling in the Championship was more consistent with Ottis Gibson once again defying age by passing 50 wickets. David Masters, who was voted as the club's Player of the Year, finally came of age and looked a changed man and teenager Stuart Broad just fell short of 30 wickets and gave fans an exciting preview of what is to come from him in future seasons.
In the Totesport, the County were either brilliant or awful and for most of the season it looked like they would be serious promotion contenders but a poor run towards the end of the season brought disappointment. John Sadler, Darren Maddy and HD Ackerman were most effective with the bat and Ottis Gibson was the main man in the bowling department.
The 20/20 saw the Foxes once again reach the finals day at the Oval, only to infuriatingly throw away the semi final match versus Somerset although the highlight of the day was that stunning catch from a unlikely source, David Masters!
Youth wise, wicketkeeper batsman Tom New also impressed in both one day and championship and looks a good prospect with his graceful approach. Jimmy Allenby made the odd cameo and expect to see some exciting batting and fielding from this Anglo-Australian, and Ryan Cummins made an impression after arriving from Loughborough University with his accurate brisk medium pace bowling.
