'For years they mocked us' - how Leics earned their first ever promotion

"For years they laughed astatine us, and they mocked us. They're not laughing anymore."

Alfonso Thomas, nan Leicestershire caput coach, is stood successful nan location changing room astatine Grace Road, his sound breaking, arsenic he congratulates his side, external for earning promotion to Division One of nan County Championship.

They person not dined astatine nan apical array of English cricket for 23 years. During that time, they plumbed nan depths of nan home game. They vanished bottommost of Division Two 8 times, failing to triumph astatine each successful 4 of those seasons.

It sewage truthful bad, immoderate were questioning whether Leicestershire should beryllium a first-class broadside astatine all., external Now, they are nan runaway leaders of Division Two, earning their first ever promotion.

But really did they bounce backmost truthful spectacularly?

It each starts successful nan Durham canteen successful September 2023.

Thomas, made interim coach of Leicestershire pinch erstwhile England batter James Taylor, is sat having luncheon during a County Championship match.

Thomas and Taylor had led them to a thrilling One-Day Cup triumph earlier successful nan month, picking up nan pieces aft Paul Nixon's unceremonious mid-season sacking.

"All nan players came successful together. They were chatting together, and sat down to eat together," Thomas told nan Talking Foxes podcast.

"It sounds small, but I thought past 'we mightiness person something'."

The erstwhile South Africa and Somerset all-rounder was not primitively going to use for nan apical job, but past sent his exertion disconnected during that match. Taylor became his assistant.

"He [Thomas] is truthful genuine," Richard Rae, BBC Radio Leicester's long-serving commentator told us.

"It comes from nan heart. In nan past, players were almost overloaded pinch information. He's tried to sorb nan pressure, and fto nan players spell retired and play, and bask themselves."

The Foxes had been steadily improving earlier Thomas took over, becoming a mid-table squad successful Division Two aft their nadir successful nan mediate of nan past decade.

They famously went 37 matches complete 933 days without a Championship triumph betwixt September 2012 and June 2015.

Lewis Hill, who scored nan winning runs against Essex to extremity that run, made 88 this week successful their tie against Gloucestershire which sealed promotion.

After 20 years of struggle, and amid wider debates astir a restructure of nan region crippled - and truthful a simplification successful first-class teams - nan Foxes were very overmuch successful nan firing line.

"People were saying, 'what is nan constituent of Leicestershire?'" Rae added.

Since past Leicestershire person very overmuch proved their worth, processing young England talent for illustration Rehan Ahmed, who scored 5 swashbuckling hundreds of years this season, and gait bowler Josh Hull.

Their One-Day Cup triumph, and now promotion, is simply a changeable successful nan limb for smaller counties.

The last portion of nan puzzle was beardown recruitment.

Logan van Beek has made captious contributions pinch bat and ball, but possibly astir important of them all, was adding Peter Handscomb to nan team, and making him nine captain.

The calm, composed Australian has added captious runs, but galore of nan players this play person said he has fixed them "clarity".

"Pete arsenic a skipper this play has been really consistent," all-rounder Ian Holland, who has taken 35 wickets and scored 470 runs this campaign, said.

"He's very experienced, and he has brought things together nicely."

The Foxes, done recruitment, difficult activity and bully coaching, person created a broadside greater than nan sum of its parts.

"I deliberation what's stood retired is that it's been a corporate effort," Rae added.

"There's cipher from Leicestershire successful nan apical 10 tally scorers, but past everyone has made a important contribution. Same pinch nan wicket takers, 3 players person 30 wickets, but cipher has 50."

"A batch of different things person been put right," added Holland, who joined from Hampshire past summer. "You could show nan nine was connected an upward trajectory.

"It's really travel together nicely. There's a awesome operation of players pinch a batch of experience, that really want it, and younger guys coming through. It's conscionable clicked."

In nan end, nan Foxes person stormed to promotion, winning six games this play and losing conscionable once. No different region has done that successful either division.

It whitethorn person travel successful anti-climactic manner connected time 4 against Gloucestershire, pinch nan umpires announcing nary much play was possible. Promotion wished by Tannoy alternatively than bat and ball, but it does not make nan accomplishment immoderate little significant.

From wherever Leicestershire were, and pinch less resources and a smaller crushed than different counties, to execute promotion is nary mean feat.

The Foxes are not done yet, too. They are wished to triumph Division Two, and get their first four-day silverware since 1998.

"We attraction connected winning each crippled of cricket we play," Thomas added.

"We are turning up to hit Kent adjacent week, we are wished to spell and get ourselves a trophy."

Perhaps nan sweetest portion of each of this for Leicestershire staff, players, and fans, is that nan perennial underdogs of nan English game, 'little aged Leicestershire' arsenic they person ironically referred themselves arsenic successful nan past, are backmost successful nan large time.

"I'm conscionable happy that we person fixed nan fans of Leicestershire nan emotion that they will watch Division One cricket past year," Thomas said.

"We wanted these players to situation themselves, and beryllium nan champion type of themselves. It is our jobs to unfastened their minds to really bully they tin be.

"They person put Leicestershire County Cricket Club backmost connected nan map."