Young County set for Pro40 challenge

Date: Saturday 18 July 2009

Youngsters will get their opportunity in Leicestershire Foxes' last ever Pro40 campaign, which begins at Northamptonshire Steelbacks on Sunday afternoon.

The team are looking to build on their Twenty20 successes earlier this summer, and Senior Coach Tim Boon views the 40-over format as a good opportunity to keep developing the skills of young players and working on methods that proved successful in the shorter format of the game.

With all that in mind, Matthew Boyce and Jim Allenby will open the batting and look to build on their impressive record in T20.

The pair shared four stands of 50-plus in the six outings they had together, which are impressive statistics.

In-form Tom New will get chance to showcase his skills in the one-day arena, while James Taylor will be looking to continue with his impressive start in List A cricket.

The youngster made an impressive century at Worcestershire in the FPT, and his England under-19 colleague Josh Cobb is likely to get a chance to impress.

Cobb's Kibworth teammate Greg Smith has also made good progress after breaking a thumb earlier this summer and will be looking to stamp his mark on the first team again at some stage.

The young batter made his maiden Pro40 half-century in the defeat at Surrey Lions last season, and is back on the staff full-time after finishing his studies at Durham University for the summer.

On the bowling front, Wayne White and Harry Gurney were both outstanding in Twenty20 earlier this season. The seamers both developed nicely and will look to put those vital skills learnt into practice again over a longer period of one-day cricket.

The Pro40 side will also have a strong base of experience. Boeta Dippenaar will lead the side, while AJ Harris and Iain O'Brien - who both bowled beautifully in the Championship win against Middlesex last week - are also in the squad for tomorrow's match.

Slow left-armer Claude Henderson also re-enters the equation to provide a spin option, although Jigar Naik is still a couple of weeks away from recovering from a broken arm.

Promising seamer Alex Wyatt is also struggling with injury at the moment which rules him out of the action in the immediate future. Sam Cliff is making progress from his shin problems, but will not be available for the game tomorrow.

Cliff's Loughborough Town colleague Nathan Buck may also come into the 40-over frame at some point, although he will be representing England under 19s this weekend against Bangladesh at Grace Road.