WHENEVER any struggling team finds a breakthrough star, their leading rivals are never slow to take notice and begin circling around.
That must be the fear for many a Leicestershire fan this summer, with the increasingly excellent form of all-rounder Ben Raine attracting glances from the heavyweight opposition – his lightning-fast t20 century last week impossible to ignore.
But whilst Leicestershire have certainly been labelled as strugglers in recent seasons, with no County Championship wins in either 2014 or 2017, the Paul Nixon revolution is clearly into full swing in the East Midlands this summer.
Three wins achieved so far mean Leicestershire are in the top half of Division Two in the County Championship and the most unlikeliest of promotions is even being whispered of.
Either way, it is set to come soon enough for Raine, who has a clause in his contract enabling him to leave for a prospective topflight suitor.
“That’s why I’ve got that in my contract, Division One cricket is what I want to do,” explained the 26-year-old Tynesider.
“That’s where in our country the best players play and I want to find out if I’m one of them.
“There are some seriously good cricketers playing in Division Two, I think we underrate that a little bit.
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