Cliff hangs on for Leicestershire

26 August 2008

Leicestershire will be looking to build on a good draw against Middlesex at Lord's when they entertain Essex in a LV County Championship Division Two match at Grace Road.

Josh Cobb led the charge of the youngsters against Middlesex, making an outstanding unbeaten 148, and he is sure to keep his place in the starting line-up.

Greg Smith and James Taylor, both England under-19 internationals, will also be looking to cement their place in the first team.

HD Ackerman is the leading run-scorer in Division Two

HD Ackerman will be hoping to continue as the division's highest run-scorer after passing 1,000 runs for the season.

After an impressive showing in the NatWest Pro40 win against Derbyshire, young pace bowler Sam Cliff - who took 4-26 - will be hoping for his first championship start of the season.

Essex have named a 12-man squad for the clash against Leicestershire, with 18-year-old batsman Jaik Mickleburgh set to make his championship debut after scoring consistently in second XI cricket this year.

Tim Phillips is preferred to James Middlebrook in the spin department while Tom Westley is in line for his first championship outing since early June.

Danish Kaneria (broken finger) and Maurice Chambers (ankle) are both due to have operations in the next week so will miss the rest of the season.