Cobb pining for next step

Young Leicestershire batsman Josh Cobb hopes to use a stint at the Darren Lehmann Academy this winter as a springboard to greater success for county and country.

The 18-year-old former Oakham School captain is part of a crop of promising teenage batsmen at Grace Road, and one of the success stories from a generally mediocre season for the Foxes, scoring 419 runs in eight first-class appearances.

Cobb has been tipped by some as a possible selection for England Under-19s winter tours in the New Year - and the Leicester-born batsman would represent something of a leftfield selection, having never featured for his region or at England age-group level.

“I’m very hopeful,” Cobb told ecb.co.uk. “That’s my winter ambition and aim. If I’m not picked, then I’ll have to go back and try again.

“I’ve played for Leicestershire age-groups and been to Midlands trials every year, but I’ve never been picked. So I’m very hungry for this.”

Cobb's six-hour unbeaten 148 against Middlesex at Lord’s in August catapulted him into the county record books.

Josh Cobb remembers to ground his bat in a NatWest Pro40 game against Surrey Brown Caps

It also ensured him of a feat not achieved by his father Russell, who played 122 first-class matches for Leicestershire, but never scored a century. A nervous Cobb Sr, who has a coaching rule at Leicester, was on the phone as Josh neared his ton.

Cobb and HD Ackerman (194) put on 266 for the sixth wicket, an all-wicket record partnership for Leicestershire against Middlesex, surpassing the 236 put on by David Gower (102 not out) and Brian Davison (104no) at Lord’s in 1976.

It also surpassed the record sixth-wicket partnership for any side against Middlesex, held for 62 years by the legendary India all-rounder Vinoo Mankad (193no) and Vijay Hazare (109no), who put on 226 at HQ.

Cobb was just happy to have the chance to bat for so long with Ackerman, who played four Tests for South Africa in 1998.

“It’s great to bat so long with HD, who could still play Test match cricket,” Cobb continued.

“I’ve never batted for that long, and never faced that number of balls. After I completed the century I probably played a bit more naturally. I’ve had to adapt my game from club cricket a lot because the standard is so much higher.

“I learned a lot since that innings. If you bat time, you get the bad ball and back yourself to put it away.”

Three weeks earlier against Warwickshire at Grace Road Cobb had shared a stand of 139 with the South African to which the teenager contributed just 35. Ackerman went on to score a monumental 199. It was an experience Cobb used when he found himself back in the middle at Lord’s.

“I batted with him against Warwickshire for quite a long time but I only scored 35 from 148 balls. He scored 199 and looked like going on forever.

HD Ackerman's innings of 194 and 199 both featured long stands with 18-year-old Cobb

“So when we were in the same situation (against Middlesex), it was nice to score big myself. You know HD is going to score at a good pace, so there’s no pressure to score quickly.”

In a fortnight Cobb will depart for Australia and follow the lead of a lot of young batsmen in spending time on the bouncier wickets. Aside from receiving coaching at the Adelaide Oval, he will play at the weekends for Tea Tree Gully District CC.

Aside from batting in the middle-order, Cobb bowls some part-time leg-spin which has been aired in the championship already.

Cobb’s opportunities for the Foxes’ one-day side have been limited to three NatWest Pro40 matches this season, but that is something he is hoping to change.

“One of my key aims in Adelaide will be to develop my one-day game to cement a place,” he said. “I want to play every game for Leicestershire if possible.

“Another aim is to bowl useful overs in the middle of a one-day game, so I can develop my leg-spin for when it's required in a championship match.”

Leicestershire appeared to rely too heavily on Ackerman (1,302 championship runs), captain Paul Nixon (954) and Cobb in 2008, with Boeta Dippenaar in particular finding things hard, scoring just 431 at 25.35 in his first season as overseas player.

“Obviously we need more runs to win the division. We proved at the beginning of the year that we could get to the top, but we fell away.

“Boeta Dippenaar has struggled this year. But he’s a class above the rest and he showed that in the last championship game when he scored 84.

“I’m sure if he comes back next year he’ll be the one that steps up and scores 1,000 runs.”