Leicestershire wicket-keeper Tom New in fine run of form with bat

Tom New's half-century at Derby yesterday continued an excellent sequence of scores from the Leicestershire wicket-keeper.

His 66 against Derbyshire, which helped to ensure Leicestershire banked maximum batting points, took his tally to 222 in his last four innings at an average of 111.

New has also scored heavily for the second team, including a century, when the first-team focus has been on Twenty20 cricket, in which he rarely features.

Senior coach Tim Boon says that New's success has not happened by accident.

"Tom is now being rewarded for the hard work that he has put in over the past couple of years," said Boon.

"During the winter he has worked hard at his game. He has backed himself and is open to learning.

"Most importantly he knows the way he plays now.

"He sells his wicket dearly and there are also other little things like knowing where your off stump is and where to pick up the ones."

Boon added: "Physically he is a lot stronger than he was and he has matured massively as a cricketer."

That maturity shone through yesterday as New guided Leicestershire past the 400 mark following the early loss of James Taylor, which might have exposed County's lengthy tail.

New, who has taken over behind the stumps for Championship matches from Paul Nixon in the last month, chanced his arm at times to keep the scoreboard ticking over but the majority of the eight boundaries in his innings came from sweetly- timed shots.