Date-stamped : 10 May95 - 14:26 Benson & Hedges Cup Round 4 : Leicestershire v Warwickshire Leicester, 9 May 1995 Warwickshire quarter-final hopes rest on Leics revival - Geoffrey Dean Warwicks (227-2) bt Leics (224-8) by 8 wkts WARWICKSHIRE outplayed a disappointing Leicestershire side to keep alive their hopes of being able to defend the Benson & Hedges Cup in the quarter-final stages. Progress will only be possible, however, if Nottinghamshire lose to Leicestershire next Tuesday. Leicestershire will certainly have to improve vastly on such an insipid performance if they are to beat Notts. If they do, Warwickshire will almost certainly go though on a superior net run-rate as their final group match is against Minor Counties. Even with five first-team regulars missing - Dermot Reeve, Tim Munton, Allan Donald, Nick Knight and Keith Piper - Warwickshire won with the greatest of ease. Both Donald and Reeve expect to be fit for tomorrow`s championship match at Old Trafford, and Munton will make his first appearance of the season on Friday - for the second XI. Piper also returns then. It was one of the reserves, Dougie Brown, who made early inroads into the Leicestershire batting. Coming up the hill, he had Ni- gel Briers lbw, trying to play his beloved whip through midwick- et, then knocked out Vince Wells`s off stump with an off-cutter. From 20 for two, Leicestershire made a good recovery. James Whi- taker timed the ball beautifully, beginning with two sumptuous back-foot forces for four off Brown. Likewise, Hansie Cronje was soon driving elegantly in the V and at 105 for two from 30 overs Leicestershire were well placed. The match was then won and lost in the next two overs. First, Cronje, challenging Graeme Welch to back up his prod to silly mid-on off his own bowling, was caught dawdling back to his crease. Welch, sensing that Cronje was daydreaming, picked up and threw down the stumps in one swift movement. The South African, who in five innings at Grace Road this season has made only 44 runs, was clearly aghast at his mistake. In the next over Whitaker, who had just reached a good fifty off 79 balls with a fine pull and an exquisite extra-cover drive off Welch, smacked a long hop from Paul Smith straight to deep square leg. Like Cronje, he had given it away. The rest of the innings was a struggle for runs against steady, accurate bowling. Trevor Penney ran out Ben Smith with a brilli- ant throw from midwicket and only a typically well-improvised fifty off 65 balls from Phil Robinson saw his side past 200. The final over yielded 17 runs. Against bowling and fielding that seemed to lack purpose and com- mitment, Warwickshire`s pursuit of a modest target on a firm pitch looked destined to succeed from very early on. Dominic Ostler, who overcame a bad knee to reach his fifty in 52 balls, played some glorious shots, hitting six fours in the space of 11 balls from the medium-fast of John Dakin. Of these, three were whipped through midwicket and mid on. With the confidence and arrogance of Viv Richards, Dakin could only shake his head. Andy Moles`s third fifty in four Benson & Hedges matches this season earned him his second Gold Award. His timing, like Roger Twose`s, could not be faulted as the pair added 120 in 29 overs. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)