'Wheels not off' after first Leics loss - Van Beek

Netherlands international Logan van Beek is in his first season with Leicestershire

Leicestershire's first defeat of the season will not trigger panic, says Foxes all-rounder Logan van Beek.

Sunday's five-wicket T20 Blast loss to Northants Steelbacks came two days after the County Championship Division Two leaders opened their white-ball campaign with victory against East Midlands rivals Derbyshire.

Two wickets lost in the first over and an early batting collapse had Leicestershire at 39-7 and staring at the prospect of setting a club-record low total in the competition.

A knock of 42 from Van Beek helped then to 122 all out, and while they had Northants 75-4 in the 14th over, Ravi Bopara's unbeaten 46 off 40 balls took them home with four balls to spare.

"We just had a terrible start, and that doesn't mean the wheels have fallen off or anything like that," Van Beek told BBC Radio Leicester.

"We just have to acknowledge it. We had a bad start, that was it. We now have another game in two days' time, so let's click into that."

Van Beek says the early difficulties at Wantage Road did nothing to diminish the new levels of confidence the side has found in the opening months of the season.

Head coach Alfonso Thomas has spoken in recent weeks about how it has taken "baby steps" to lift Leicestershire out of the County Championship doldrums to the top of the Division Two table.

Their five victories in seven matches leading up to the start of the T20 campaign is as many wins as they managed in the second tier of the red-ball game between 2019 and 2024.

"Even in this situation, because we have been winning you kind of have a bit of an instinct that 'all right we can pull this out of the fire here'," Van Beek said.

"You have a good feeling going into games and a good feeling going into situations knowing you are winning and have the momentum."

Leicestershire are next in action on Wednesday at Old Trafford where they face North Group leaders Lancashire Lightning, who have won all three of their T20 matches.