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​After the hammering Leicestershire took at Northampton had consigned them to finish at the foot of the championship table, the winter looked a long, hard one for County fans.

Yet within the space of a week Leicestershire have turned matters round spectacularly and supporters will be ticking off the days until stumps are pitched next spring.

First came the signing of Matthew Hoggard, a real rabbit out of the hat that one.

Now, the County have extended James Taylor’s contract until 2012, which is almost as important as the capture of Hoggard.

It says much about what Leicestershire are attempting to do.

While Taylor was emerging over the course of the season, it became all too evident that people outside the confines of the County Ground saw him as the next Stuart Broad – brought through the Leicestershire ranks only to move on to a “big” county.

In sealing a new deal with Taylor, Leicestershire have demonstrated that they are prepared to roll up their sleeves and fight to keep their young guns.

On the other side of the coin, the fact that Taylor has been prepared to commit for another three years suggests he sees better times ahead for the Foxes under the leadership of Hoggard.

Chief executive David Smith likened the process to fitting the pieces of a jigsaw together.

At Wantage Road back in September a fair few pieces were missing. Now, at least we can see the picture beginning to develop.