Hoggard’s delight as underdogs provide fitting finale for Nixon

Leicestershire captain Matthew Hoggard hailed a wonderful day for the underdog after his side upset the odds to claim the Friends Life t20 title at Edgbaston on Saturday night.

The Foxes went into the finals day as fourth favourites behind semi-final opponents Lancashire as well as Southern Group rivals Somerset and Hampshire.

But, after seeing off the Red Rose in a one-over elimination following their tied match, they condemned Somerset to their third runners-up spot in as many years with an 18-run win.

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Former England and Yorkshire seam bowler Hoggard revelled in the efforts of a side who are bottom of the Second Division in the LV County Championship and above only Scotland in their Clydesdale Bank 40 group.

He said: “We are the underdogs, but there’s no pressure on you then is there?

“You always say every dog has its day and the underdog has had its day here.

“It’s the first final I’ve been involved in. To have both semi-finals finishing in a tie is unprecedented and you wouldn’t have written a better script.

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“We knew we had qualified for the Champions League after the semi-final anyway so we tried to relax against Somerset and said ‘whatever happens in the final, it doesn’t really matter’.

“We’ve been pretty dire this season apart from the t20 campaign, but we’ve sort of rescued it.”

Leicestershire’s win – built around scores of 33 and 35 from Abdul Razzaq and Will Jefferson and a man-of-the-match bowling display from part-timer Josh Cobb, who took 4-22 – also provided a fitting swansong for Paul Nixon.

The 40-year-old wicketkeeper was playing his final day of county cricket after announcing his retirement, but has already vowed to extend his career by a couple of weeks as the Foxes head to India for Champions League qualifying.

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He produced a stunning one-handed catch to remove Somerset’s overseas star Kieron Pollard for one and was the centre of attention in the joyous post-match celebrations.

“They say every fairytale needs a sprinkling of magic and that catch was the sprinkling of magic,” said Hoggard.

“That he managed to dive full-length and take the catch showed that there’s still life in the old dog and he was superb.

“It was like he’d taken a load of energy drinks all day. He was here the last time Leicestershire won in 2006 as well so he’s quite happy.”

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Somerset captain Marcus Trescothick, the country’s resident expert in giving runners-up press conferences after coming second in 2009 and 2010 as well as losing last year’s CB40 final, tried to remain upbeat.

He will not be travelling to India for the Champions League games due to the stress-related illness that ended his England career, but admits it lessens the blow of yet another defeat.

“We’ll come back, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.

“We’ll keep being strong in what we do and we’ll keep doing the hard work. Eventually we will get to the point where we win the trophy.

“The trip to India is a bit of a consolation prize to walk away with. The competition was fantastic the last time we went and the lads will be looking forward to it, no doubt.”

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Nixon believes Leicestershire team-mate James Taylor has what it takes to be a star after comparing him to Graham Gooch.

Nixon and Taylor were both part of the Foxes side who upset the odds to triumph at Edgbaston yesterday.

While it represented 40-year-old Nixon’s final match on home soil before retirement, batsman Taylor is at the beginning of what promises to be a long and successful career.

He made his England debut in the one-day match against Ireland last week but has not been retained for the India series, which starts on Wednesday.

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Nixon thinks that is a mistake and tipped the diminutive batsman to be a better long-term bet than Jonathan Trott, whose occasionally ponderous one-day scoring rate has been criticised.

“James Taylor should have been playing for England weeks ago,” said Nixon.

“I rate Jonathan Trott highly as a Test bat, as high as anyone in the world at the moment and his record proves that, but in ODIs I don’t think Jonathan’s game suits batting through and going hard at the end.

“James Taylor is a finisher and he can hit the ball out of the ground.”

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Gooch is one of England’s finest ever players and has been credited with a big impact on the national side’s fortunes after joining the backroom staff as batting coach.

But Nixon does not feel Taylor is flattered by the comparison.

“He’s got every option and he’s such a fast learner. His understanding in terms of where he is in his game is like a 34-year-old pro. James is a professor of his industry, he reminds me of Graham Gooch. He’s got magic, I promise you.”