Crisis at Leicestershire as now Cobb departs

Leicestershire's miserable summer has taken a turn for the worse after Northamptonshire confirmed the signing of their one-day captain Josh Cobb.

Cobb joins Northants, already relegated from Division One of the Championship, as they seek to rebuild but it will be his limited-overs prowess which holds most appeal.

Leicestershire, bottom of Division Two and without a win for two years, are facing a creeping threat to their existence as their best players rush to the exits at the first opportunity.

Cobb follows in quick succession Shiv Thakor, to Derbyshire, and Nathan Buck, signed by Lancashire, with the possibility of Ned Eckersley also leaving.

In recent years, Harry Gurney and James Taylor have departed to near-neighbours Nottinghamshire, in search of Division One cricket, considerable salary rises and England recognition.

If Leicestershire fail to win at Derby next week they will become the first team to go through two full seasons without a win since Northamptonshire before World War II. They have some way to go to match Northants' record for failure. They went 99 games without a win between 1935 and 1939 - ending the sequence with an innings win against Leicestershire.

Leicestershire's run only extends to 31 but, despite the annual ECB grant which underpins their existence, these are less forgiving economic times. Things have reached a pretty pass since since their two Championship wins in the 1990s or, indeed, the last of their three Twenty20 Cups only three seasons ago.

With Mike Siddall also due to depart as chief executive, Leicestershire are also searching desperately for a replacement who can bring a fresh vision to the club.

There is talk of stepping up efforts to make an impact on Leicester's Indian community, where bonds remain weak. Wasim Khan, chief executive of the cricketing charity Chance to Shine, is one name to have been floated.

A majority of county supporters remain loyal to the 18-team format and resist such calls as those made by Ian Botham for a mass restructuring of the county game - in Botham's case, in his MCC Spirit of Cricket address earlier this month, a reduction to 12 teams.

But secretly some counties would be relaxed about any Leicestershire collapse, privately contending that a small slimming down of the 18-team professional circuit would help to ease fixture congestion - an eight-team Division One would have eight fewer days Championship cricket.

These, then, are disturbing times. There is even also talk of a potential return in some capacity for Neil Davidson, a combative businessman who left the county four years ago after a spectacular fallout with the then captain Matthew Hoggard, who led a dressing room revolt against him because of alleged interference in team affairs.

Davidson said he plans to stand in the close season for Leicestershire's committee because he did "not want to see the club collapse". He told the Leicester Mercury: "The facts speak for themselves. Two years without a Championship win. Bottom of Division Two again by a country mile. Our best young players have either left or are leaving.

"Nearly 10 years ago we made a decision to invest in the developing our own players because we could not compete with the cheque books of the bigger counties. That investment has been totally wasted."

Davidson, who has retained connections with cricket in the county as president of Loughborough Town CC, is also joint owner of The Cricketer magazine, alongside Lord Marland, a former Conservative Party treasuerer who once unsuccessfully stood for ECB chairman against Giles Clarke, the current incumbent.

Their reign at The Cricketer has been a contentious one. Two editors, John Stern and Andrew Miller, have departed in recent years, staff numbers were cut this summer and the purchase of a fledgling internet commentary service, Test Match Sofa, was fiercely opposed by the ECB because of rights issues.

Cobb, Leicestershire's one-day captain, was another symbol of the club's ability to produce talent against the odds. He came through the age group and Academy system at Grace Road as well as completing a scholarship at Oakham School, which along with Uppingham School is a traditional supplier of cricketing talent, making his Leicestershire first-class debut aged 17.

He became Leicestershire's youngest Championship centurion in 2008, when making an unbeaten 148* against Middlesex at Lord's. He was named Man of the Match in the T20 final against Somerset in 2011.

Northants' chief executive, David Smith, said: "I know Josh well; he will bring a real cutting edge to our white ball cricket, having already scored five hundreds in this format. He has also had a very good Championship season this year and also brings invaluable captaincy experience, having undertaken this role for the past two years. At 24 years of age, his best cricket is still ahead of him."

Cobb said: "Captaining my boyhood team was an honour and something I will always cherish. But I feel it's now time to challenge myself to improve in a new environment. I want to wish Leicestershire all the best for the future, Grace Road will always be a special place for me. I want to play at the highest level and play the best domestic cricket available. Northamptonshire have proven that they are a winning limited-overs team and have set clear targets to get back into Division One next year. I want to be a part of this."

Leicestershire, meanwhile, have some hearts and minds to win, and some recruiting to do, and limited funds with which to do it.