Leicestershire win for first time since 2012

Leicestershire have won their first County Championship match since 2012 after beating Essex by six wickets at Chelmsford.

It was their first victory in red ball cricket since they overcame Gloucestershire back in September 2012.

They went through the whole of the 2013 and 2014 seasons without winning a game. And they went another five matches this season without tasting victory.

But Chelmsford has been a result pitch this season, and Essex have not been playing well – they are now bottom of the Division Two table, swapping places with the Foxes.

They began the final day on 55-0, chasing 163 for victory, and whilst they got home with six wickets to spare, there was a customary Leicestershire wobble along the way.

Matthew Boyce (24) fell with the score on 87, edging Jesse Ryder low down to first slip Nick Browne. Jamie Porter, Essex's up-and-coming young fast bowler, then bowled Ned Eckersley (three) and Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove (two) in successive overs. Their 87-0 had become 100-3.

Angus Robson, younger brother of Middlesex and England opener Sam, had scored a century in Leicestershire's first innings, and he had been the rock second time around as well, keeping the score ticking along. 

He had got to 71 when Robson edged Porter down the leg side - 117-4.

That left the Foxes 44 to win and in came Andrea Agathangelou, a debutant, released by Lancashire at the end of last season. He had flopped in his first innings, scoring just one. But this time round he proved to be the Leicestershire hero, stroking 42no off 41 balls. In company with Lewis Hill (18no) he got the Foxes home.

Hill got the winning run on the stroke of lunch with a single into the covers off first-class debutant Aron Nijjar, who had been launched for six the delivery before by the Leicestershire wicketkeeper.

Leicestershire collected 21 points to move off the bottom of the table, swapping places with Essex, who had to settle for a miserly three points after their third successive championship defeat.

Over recent years Leicestershire have seen most of their star players leave for bigger, richer clubs. Stuart Broad, James Taylor, Harry Gurney and Greg Smith all went to neighbours Nottinghamshire. And the likes of David Masters, Darren Stevens, Jim Allenby, Nathan Buck, Shiv Thakor and Josh Cobb are all former Leicestershire players.

But whilst the big names have left, they have some impressive youngsters coming through. The likes of Robson, Eckersley and Hill have all scored centuries this season. Ben Raine is a rising star as an all-rounder.

And the new Australian pair of Clint McKay - who has shone with bat and ball - and Cosgrove, plus veterans Niall O'Brien and Charlie Shreck have all played their part in an improved performance this season, culminating in their long-awaited victory.

In addition, the club recruited a new chief executive, Wasim Khan, and new head coach, Andrew McDonald, over the winter - and the changes appear to be bearing fruit.

Leicestershire fans around the country were in celebratory mood. In response to this tweet on the official @leicsccc account - 'Leicestershire win by six wickets' - @thejohno77 replied: 'I have had 2 children since the last one!'

Hill, who scored the winning runs, told the club's website: "It’s a great feeling for all of us, because we’ve had some dark days in the last couple of years.

"But we’ve felt this was coming all season, after the changes at the club in the winter, with Wasim Khan coming in as chief executive and a new captain and coach.

“I was a bit nervous going in after we’d lost a couple of wickets but tried to concentrate on my batting and Andrea (Agathangelou) was great at the other end.

"I wasn’t sure at first whether that last one was going past cover, and I ended up coming back for a second even though we didn’t need it – I’ve already had some stick from the lads for that.

“We had a good sing in the dressing room but this won’t be it for us now – we want to start climbing up that table, and thinking about promotion like we said before the start of the season."

Opening batsman Robson told Sky Sports News HQ: "It's obviously an exciting day for the club. We've tried to have a positive approach and start afresh this year, but there's no doubt there's been some dark days over the last couple of years and it's not somthing that anyone thrust upon them. 

"It's been a tough couple of years. We've been in the hunt in every game this year. We've been very close and it's about time we got over the line and hopefully this will stir us on to go further."