Leicestershire defend player exodus

Leicestershire have defended their attempts to keep players at the club after the recent exodus in what has been a disastrous season.

The team slumped to their tenth Championship defeat on Thursday - by an overwhelming 408 runs against Derbyshire as they folded for 141 and 112 - to bring the curtain down on a woeful four-day season where, for the second summer running, they failed to win a match. In the T20 Blast they won four from 14 matches, finishing second bottom of the North Division, and while they ended mid-table in the Royal London Cup group stage there were still just three wins in eight games.

In recent weeks three players who could have been key for their future have left for new clubs - Josh Cobb to Northamptonshire, Nathan Buck to Lancashire and Shiv Thakor to Derbyshire - although the county were able to announce the signing of Clint McKay, the Australia paceman, for the 2015 season.

"The club regrets that a number of home-grown players have decided to leave Grace Road at the end of this season," a statement said. "Those players were offered good deals at the club but sadly decided that their futures lie elsewhere. It is not a case that we are 'letting go' of these players. They have turned down contracts here and signed them elsewhere. Sadly, this is out of our control.

"Players have moved from Leicestershire, and other counties, in the past. They will do so in the future. It is certainly not our intention to lose our best players and we did everything in our power to keep them at the club."

Over the next two weeks extensive reviews into the season will be conducted, led by board advisor Andrew Boyce who will be interim chief executive when Mike Siddall leaves at the end of September. The club have then invited members to attend a forum on October 15 at Grace Road having declined the opportunity to be part of a BBC Radio Leicester debate next week.

"We would like to complete two agreed reviews before we address the media," the statement said. "The club accepts that results over the last two seasons have been extremely disappointing and that Members feel that the situation needs to change. We know that these are difficult times but we are determined to have success in the future."