Snape pulls Foxes through
Leicestershire captain Jeremy Snape spun his side into the Twenty20 Cup final with a four-wicket haul against Essex.
Snape's men will meet either Surrey or Nottinghamshire in tonight's showpiece at Trent Bridge after a 23-run victory.
Essex, propelled by Mark Pettini's rapid half-century, were well on course to reach their 174-run target when Snape introduced himself from the pavilion end. But from a position of 79 for two after 10 overs, Essex slipped as Snape turned the screw by taking the pace off the ball.
Former England one-day player Snape started the demise when Pettini dismantled his stumps attempting to cut.
A trio of catches in the deep then accounted for Ravi Bopara, Ryan ten Doeschate and James Middlebrook as Essex's scoring was suffocated by regular loss of wickets.
England batsman Alastair Cook succumbed to Darren Maddy's under-arm throw at the non-striker's end before reaching double figures and Leicestershire's smart catching backed up their bowlers' efforts.
Leicestershire's 173 for four was founded on canny half-centuries from experienced duo HD Ackerman and Paul Nixon.
With the base for the innings set when they came together at 70 for two in the 11th over, they gradually developed the scoring rate and the half-century partnership took just 31 deliveries.
