Last updated on .From the section Cricket

Ben Raine signed a contract extension in August, keeping him at Leicestershire until the 2019 season.

Scrapping the mandatory coin toss in county cricket is "against the spirit of the game", says Leicestershire all-rounder Ben Raine.

The change is effective in both divisions and aims to encourage better pitches for four-day cricket.

"It is a bit of a rubbish rule," Raine told BBC Radio Leicester. "Hopefully it doesn't last too long. I'm not sure why the rule has been brought in.

"It's against the spirit of cricket and against the rules of the game."

The rule change means that Foxes skipper Mark Cosgrove will have the chance to decide if his side will bowl first in their opening County Championship match of the season against Glamorgan in Cardiff on 17 April.

England's limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan has said the move may benefit the game long-term, allowing younger players to develop different skills on better quality pitches.

Raine argues that the toss had little bearing on any of Leicestershire's County Championship results last season.

"I don't think there were too many pitches last year where the toss did really affect the outcomes," he added.

"The two games we did win, we did bowl first but there are plenty of times where we bowled first and lost."