David Fulton has taken special delight in the effervescent all-round contributions of Darren Stevens, who had bowled more first-class overs by the end of June than in eight summers at Grace Road.

“I was instrumental in getting him here,” the former captain says, with no trace of false modesty, of a player whose talent had plainly been going to seed. “Leicestershire had released him but the people I spoke to there – Paul Nixon, Neil Burns and others – all said he had ability. Being released focuses the mind.

“He’s a very talented guy coming of age. He’d like to have scored a few more runs early on [this season] but he’s made up for it to an extent with his bowling. He’s a handful in the right conditions, the way he swings and nibbles. He’s been working on making off-spin a third string to his bow and at Old Trafford he asked if he could try it out. Martin van Jaarsveld, who was acting captain, gave him a shot – and he got Stuart Law, which isn’t shabby.

Rob Steen, The Wisden Cricketer