Ex-South Australia batsman strikes form for Leicestershire
Cosgrove bounces back with county ton
Mark Cosgrove has bounced back in style after being dumped from South Australia's 2016-17 contract list, scoring a century for Leicestershire in the County Championship.
Cosgrove, who was unbeaten on 99 from just 106 deliveries overnight, brought up his 29th first-class ton early on day four of his club's clash with Kent at Grace Road on Wednesday.
The Leicestershire captain had failed to trouble the scorers in his team’s opening match against Glamorgan, dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the drawn match.
But it was a different story on Tuesday. With Leicestershire in trouble at 2-17 in reply to Kent’s 264, Cosgrove joined Neil Dexter in an unbeaten 159-run third-wicket stand - which features 19 boundaries from the Australian batsman - as the hosts recovered to 2-174 when persistent rain and snow brought an early end to play on day three.
HUNDRED | @cozzie99 completes a fine century from 115 balls, he's hit 19 fours along the way. Super knock!
— Leicestershire CCC (@leicsccc) April 27, 2016
The pair scored at more than five runs in over in an entertaining display, which Cosgrove - who had never seen snow previously - admitted may have been prompted by the chilly conditions.
"I figured it was the best way to stay warm," he told ecb.co.uk.
"Seriously though, it’s good to start the season well in front of your own supporters, and I felt in good touch.
"We want to put ourselves in positions where we’re driving the game, and we’re some way towards doing that."
However the match appeared destined for a draw heading into day four, with Leicestershire still trailing Kent’s first-innings total by 90 runs.
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Last week, Cosgrove revealed exclusively to cricket.com.au his surprise at being axed by the Redbacks after helping them to their first Sheffield Shield final in two decades.
South Australia coach Jamie Siddons, along with high-performance manager Tim Nielsen, have repeatedly emphasised the state's focus on youth this season, a policy the 31-year-old Cosgrove said counted against him.
"I was picked for every (Sheffield Shield) game during the season," Cosgrove told cricket.com.au from the UK.
"It wasn't a great year (personally) but it wasn't disastrous by any stretch of the imagination.
"(Not getting an SA contract) definitely came as a surprise.
"Collectively, I thought we had a really good year. To make the Shield final for the first time in 20 years was a really positive sign."
In announcing SA's squad last week, Nielsen left the door ajar for Cosgrove's return to Redbacks through strong performances in Adelaide grade cricket.
But the former Australia coach indicated Cosgrove's decision to return to the UK was also a factor in his omission from the contract list.
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Returning for his fifth County stint – his first three were with Glamorgan – Cosgrove, a dual Australian-British passport holder, insists he had no inkling resuming duties at Leicestershire would influence his chances of a Redbacks contract.
"Me going to England has been great for my cricket," Cosgrove said. "I love playing cricket, I want to play cricket all the time.
"(Playing in the UK) is something I've done for years and has held me in good stead most of the time.
"I'd be disappointed if that was part of the reason that I didn't get a contract (with SA).
"I definitely don't come back tired or exhausted from another (English) season.
"It gets me going when I get back to another Australian season. It's really good preparation for another season coming forth."
Cosgrove is yet to decide if he'll pursue a recall to the Redback through grade cricket, or concentrate on plying his trade on the county circuit.