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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jonathan Liew

Leicestershire offer parable for English cricket: teams should serve, not just sell

Rehan Ahmed bowling to Chris Cooke during day three of the County Championship match between Leicestershire and Glamorgan.
Despite not playing in the top division since 2003, Leicestershire continue to produce talented players such as leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. Photograph: John Mallett/ProSports/Shutterstock

The fourth morning at Grace Road dawns brightly and the game is moving at a frightening pace. Leicestershire, following on, are 16 without loss. The Sussex fielders are bounding and skipping across the turf in short, jerky movements. The seamer Brad Currie walks back to his mark in a droll, Charlie Chaplin-style double-step. The commentators are talking in weird electronic blips. At this point you realise the live stream is not working.

Which is obviously something that could happen to anybody. Certainly it would be premature to draw any link between Leicestershire’s apparent inability to operate a simple two-camera feed and the fact that the club have finished bottom of the County Championship in eight of the past 14 seasons, and failed to win a single red-ball game in 2022. Eventually the technical gremlins are sorted, in which time the home team have lost one of their openers and are sliding towards a meek defeat.

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