Thomas 'over the moon' with Leicestershire squad depth
Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas has praised his squad's strength in depth after a convincing opening week County Championship victory against Glamorgan.The Foxes lost opening batter Rishi Patel to a thumb injury in the third over of the match in Cardiff, with main strike bowler Chris Wright also set to miss the second game of the season against Derbyshire.Wright was limited to just 9.5 overs in Glamorgan's second innings but they still went on to win by 10 wickets, in a result Thomas described as "really satisfying"."There's depth, there's competition for places," the former Somerset and Hampshire bowler told BBC Radio Leicester."We know that to be able to be competitive over a County Championship season, you will need 16 or 17 guys to put their hands up."We lost our opening batter in the third over, on the first day of the first day of the season, which is not ideal."I had three or four guys put their hand up to open, and to bat number three. As a whole, I'm over the moon with it, it was a fantastic squad effort."
The Foxes are set to be without pace bowler Wright against Derbyshire next week, and England test international Josh Hull is unlikely to feature, having been injured in pre-season.Netherlands international all-rounder Logan van Beek has landed in the UK, Thomas said, and is set to make his debut at Grace Road on Friday."We've got a cartel of bowlers that will make us competitive", Thomas added."We are taking the more conservative approach with Josh Hull, because he's so important for us in all formats. "We have one eye on the T20s. I don't want to rush him back too soon."Australia international and club captain Peter Handscomb praised the team's ability to "stick to their processes and plans".Leicestershire took the fewest wickets in Division Two last year, drawing 10 of 14 matches."We're trying to fit 13 or 14 blokes into 11, there's going to be some tough calls, but the pleasing thing is we have guys ready and waiting to stand up when they get an opportunity," he said."If we're going to have a good season, it's going to take a whole squad."We'll try not to look far ahead, it's one game of a 14-game season. It's a great way to start but there's a lot of cricket to be played."
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