After a miserable 2009 campaign, Leicestershire have pinned their hopes on former England seamer Matthew Hoggard to steady the ship.

Last season

The 2009 season couldn't have been much worse for Leicestershire who finished bottom of Division Two and failed to qualify for the latter stage of any cup competition.

The emergence of young batsman James Taylor did at least lift spirits slightly at Grace Road - the 20-year-old scoring 1,184 runs en route to claiming the Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year.

South African Boeta Dippenaar also passed 1,00 runs for the season, however the Foxes will be without both he and compatriot HD Ackerman for the 2010 campaign.

A lack of wickets was the main problem for Leicestershire last summer, and that was reflected in their bonus point total of just 31 in four-day cricket.

Availability was also a problem for the Foxes as only wicketkeeper Tom New featured in every County Championship fixture.

Their Twenty20 form was more encouraging though and one more victory in their North Group qualification campaign would have seen them progress to the quarter-finals.

Ins and outs

The signing and appointment of Hoggard as Foxes captain was one of the talking points of the winter and could prove either a master stroke or disaster. Either way, the club have nothing to lose.

Also arriving through the door at Grace Road will be Australian duo Andrew McDonald and Brad Hodge. All-rounder McDonald is the club's overseas player while 35-year-old Hodge, who had a two-year stay at Grace Road from 2003, is contracted solely for the Twenty20 campaign.

Opening batsman Will Jefferson also joins the club from near-neighbours Nottinghamshire, while all-rounder James Benning returns following a successful loan spell last summer.

The Foxes said farewell to South African talisman Ackerman in the winter when he ended his five-year association with the county in order for younger players at the club to progress. The 36-year-old scored over 5,000 first-class runs including a top-score of 309 not out against Glamorgan in 2006.

And Ackerman's compatriot Dippenaar, who skippered the county for much of last term, has also declined the offer to return this season. The former South African Test star and his wife recently celebrated the arrival of their first child and Dippenaar has opted against a return to Grace Road.

Kiwi paceman Iain O'Brien and talented all-rounder James Allenby have also left the club to join Division Two rivals Middlesex and Glamorgan respectively.

Summer forecast

The only consolation for Leicestershire fans heading into the new season is that on-field results can surely only improve from last year's misery.

The appointment of Hoggard - with no previous captaincy experience - is certainly a gamble, however no-one can dispute his bowling quality, despite his advancing years.

While runs from youngsters Taylor and Cobb have been a bonus in previous years, the onus in now on these two to perform regularly in order to plug the huge void left by South Africans Ackerman and Dippenaar.

Victorian McDonald looks a shrewd signing on a pitch which will certainly aid his medium-pacers, while compatriot Hodge will add much-needed overseas quality to the Foxes' T20 campaign.

That said, Leicestershire still look one of, if not the, weakest team in Division Two and anything other than a bottom-placed finish, and a run in one of the cups will be judged as a marked improvement.