After Leicestershire’s victory charge was thwarted by final day rainfall at Emirates Old Trafford, Head Coach Alfonso Thomas spoke to Club Media to discuss another positive performance for his table-topping side.

“I’d like to think we outplayed them,” the South African says following day four in Manchester. “It was obviously frustrating with the weather. The first day we lost two sessions, then we lost two and a half sessions on day four.

“On the positive side of things, I think we played really good cricket and gave ourselves the best opportunity of winning the game, and that’s what we can control.”

The Foxes have been in the driving seat in all three of their opening County Championship matches this season, a position Thomas’ team are becoming more accustomed to in comparison with years gone by. But what has sparked a change in fortune?

“I would say the main thing is we’ve done the basics better than the opposition,” says Thomas. That means hitting a line and length consistently, not being scored on both sides of the wicket, and going on to make big runs with the bat. That’s exactly what we’ve done. Everyone has chipped in during the first few games and that’s the sign of a winning team.”

On the topic of big runs, Thomas highlights the contributions of two of his international quality batters, with Rehan Ahmed and Peter Handscomb both making centuries against Lancashire. He starts by eulogising about Ahmed’s seamless acclimation to his newfound role as opener.

“Rehan’s a breath of fresh air. He’s the guy that called me up after the game at Cardiff and said ‘Coach, I want to do it.’ I think he’s a really good fit for opening. He’s more than capable of batting in any position, but this gave him a new challenge and he’s definitely taken it with both hands.”

Successive century stands with partner Sol Budinger has also impressed the 48-year-old. “He complements Sol so well. The two of them have struck up a great partnership, getting us off to fast starts and laying a platform for the middle order. It’s going to be a headache for me when Rishi is back, but a good headache.”

Elsewhere, skipper Peter Handscomb recorded his 27^th career first-class century – and sixth for Leicestershire – to act as the lynchpin of a commanding Foxes display with the bat. His 142 not out helped the Club record their highest ever total at Old Trafford.

“Pete is ‘Mr Dependable’. The way he kept the middle order together, allowing us to dictate the game, was fantastic. It’s exactly what you want from your captain. He’s the type of guy that you know what you’re going to get, and he’s been magnificent for us.

“We spoke after the last two games about making sure guys kick on and get hundreds, so we’re really happy to have two guys do that this week.”

It wasn’t just Leicestershire’s copious display with the bat which pleased the Foxes’ boss, who is quick to make special mention of Tom Scriven’s maiden first-class five-fer. “Scriv was excellent,” Thomas says. “He just has a knack of picking up big wickets.

“We’ve spoken about him being at it from ball one, which he did this week. He backed up the new ball bowlers incredibly well, stayed patient, and got his rewards.”

The control exuded by the whole Foxes attack, who collectively returned economy rates ranging from 2.2 to 3.2 runs per over in Lancashire’s first innings, was also a notable win for Thomas.

“If you compare that [the run rate] to the opposition, I’d like to think we outbowled them. The control we had as a unit was very pleasing. Even the way Dutchy and Logan bowled on day three, it looked like we were bowling on a different pitch. We would’ve liked to push home victory, but we didn’t have the time.”

Leicestershire will have a couple of days’ recovery before a day of training and travel to Bristol, as the Foxes bid to extend their strong start of the season against Gloucestershire next time out. Thomas says the coaching staff have already identified areas for improvement ahead of the trip to the West Country.

“There are a few things we want to correct. We created a few chances this game which went down, so that’s one area to work on and get right. Also, I’ve had a chat with the lads and told them I don’t want them to get complacent or to get bored of doing the simple things better than the opposition, because that’s exactly what we’ve done so well for the first three matches.”