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Foxes will cope with pressure

Tim Boon says his Leicestershire Foxes' players will cope with the pressure in tonight's final Twenty20 Cup match against Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford.

The weather has left the Foxes' North Division campaign in tatters with three successive home games washed out and four in total abandoned.

So far from seven scheduled matches they have managed to go the full distance only once - and then the sun halted play at Derby for an hour!

Even so, Leicestershire remain in contention for a quarter-final place and victory in Manchester would surely seal a place in the last eight.

Lancashire have a line-up littered with top names, including Brad Hodge and the Sri Lankan left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya, who is filling in for his compatriot Muttiah Muralitharan while he is on international duty.

The star names, though, will not daunt the champions.

"The great thing about the way we play our Twenty20 cricket is that we have overcome real pressure situations," said senior coach Boon.

"Every game we play in is a cup final, to use the clich??, and we have to be able to perform under that pressure."

One man rarely found wanting has been HD Ackerman, who continues to be a key performer at the top of the order.

In the short space of time allowed on Wednesday before the match with Durham was abandoned, Ackerman cruised to 31 not out from just 15 deliveries.

His career tally from 35 20-over matches is 1,224 runs, including 11 half centuries. Compare that to Darren Maddy's 1,258 from 41 games and it is evident just how influential a figure Ackerman remains in the 20-over format.

"Hylton (HD) has played superbly in the brief time we have been out there in this competition," said Boon.

"And Garnett Kruger is starting to show his true ability, bowling with pace and aggression."

Once again, though, the weather poses the biggest threat and indications from Manchester are that there will be an early inspection at Old Trafford, which has been left saturated from heavy rainfall in the north west.

Should the match fall foul of the weather, the Foxes could be pipped for third place in the group by Yorkshire, who host Derbyshire at Leeds.

Foxes are likely to be unchanged from the side that began against Durham.

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