NatWest Trophy: Lewis prepares to tackle pain barrier (12 Aug 1998)

12 August 1998

NatWest Trophy: Lewis prepares to tackle pain barrier

By Peter Deeley

LEICESTERSHIRE expect their biggest crowd in recent years at Grace Road today for the NatWest semi-final clash with fellow East Midlanders Derbyshire.

Though some tickets were still available late yesterday, the county are predicting a sell-out gate of about 4,500 on one of the smallest grounds on the first-class circuit.

Chris Lewis is hoping to lead out the home side but he is unlikely to bowl in the match - and may not turn his arm over again this season.

Leicestershire coach Jack Birkenshaw said: "We're hoping Lewis plays, even as batsman and fielder. But at the moment his back is hurting a lot."

Lewis added: "It's such an important match that if I have to bowl I will, but I've missed the last two championship games with the pain at the base of the spine.

"I've been struggling for some time now and needed injections to get through one cup-tie. The trouble isn't responding the way I'd like. Even standing for more than 10 minutes batting or fielding gives me a lot of stress."

Birkenshaw thinks England's selectors may have done the county a favour by omitting Alan Mullally from the Headingley Test side. "Now they've called him up as part of their one-day squad and he'll be all the more fired up to make a point."

The decision by the selectors to omit Dominic Cork from the coming one-day international tournament, even though he was a member of the victorious Test team, may equally act as a spur to the Derbyshire seamer.

He will be anxious to show he is not as inconsistent as the selectors appear to think. Cork's view is that with only one game between the club and Lord's, "a win at Leicester would be the perfect way to kick-start the finale to our season".

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)