Hodge back as Foxes kick off t20 campaign

Brad Hodge makes a welcome return to Grace Road tonight as the brand new Friends Provident t20 tournament gets underway against Derbyshire Falcons (5.30pm).

Hodge, who was a pivotal player during the 2004 success, arrived in the country over the weekend and will take his place in the Foxes line up against our East Midlands rivals.

The Derbyshire game is the first of 16 group games this season, and the Foxes need to get into the top four if they are to progress to the quarter finals stage.

It would be great to have as much support as possible during the campaign and you can still buy your tickets on the gate this evening priced £15 adults and £8 for under 16s if you haven’t already snapped them up.

It will be Matthew Hoggard’s first game in charge in the format and he has Andrew McDonald available for the game.

The all-rounder is in the Australia A squad for a tournament with Sri Lanka A later this month but does not leave just yet.

The team also received a welcome boost in the last week by finding out that Paul Nixon is eligible to play in the tournament.

Nixon is free for selection given no English side can play in the Champions League this year and that means he will continue his remarkable record in the tournament.

The popular figure has played in every single t20 game that Leicestershire have participated in and that will continue tonight as he returns to glove duty.

At the moment, his record stands at 57 appearances and if he scores more than 153 runs in 2010, he will become the Foxes' leading run-scorer in their history.

Claude Henderson is also on the verge of a record; he needs just two more wickets to surpass Jeremy Snape as the leading wicket-taker for the Club in the format.

In other team news, James Benning played a club game for Leicester Ivanhoe at the weekend and, along with Wayne White, made his comeback for the Second XI during their game against Northamptonshire on Monday.

Benning came through those fitness tests and is set to make his seasonal bow but the game comes a little too early for White, who is still struggling with the broken finger he sustained against Worcestershire last month.

Benning, along with Will Jefferson, Hoggard and McDonald, will be making their t20 bows for the club.

The Falcons, meanwhile, welcome powerful South African Loots Bosman into their squad and also include Wes Durston in their 14.

Bosman will form a potentially lethal partnership with Former Fox Chris Rogers at the top of the order, while Durston has been signed up as a one-day specialist following good performances for Somerset last season and the Unicorns this term.

Hodge, as well as seeing familiar faces in his own team, will also see another mate in the opposition line up.

John Sadler, who was part of the team that won the Cup in 2004 alongside Hodge, returns to Grace Road with the Falcons.

They will be skippered by Greg Smith as Rogers is having a break from the captaincy during this tournament.

Squads:

Foxes (from 12): Hoggard, Jefferson, Benning, du Toit, Hodge, McDonald, Taylor, Nixon, Henderson, Cliff, Gurney, Boyce.

Falcons (from 14): Bosman, Hughes, Rogers, Madsen, Garry Park, Smith (capt), Peterson, Durston, Sadler, Goddard, Jones, Groenewald, Lungley, Footitt.