However, although you will not see that sort of price again (unless England are 20 for nine following on), neither will Leicestershire be as under-estimated as they were this time last summer, when they were quoted at 40-1 for the county championship.
The fox county went on to capture the pennant for only the second time in their history, emulating Ray Illingworth's team of 1975, and while Grace Road is again likely to remain an unlikely venue for sighting an England selector, Leicestershire are seriously intent on matching Warwickshire's back to back titles in 1994 and 1995.
With only Alan Mullally in obvious danger of being plucked away for Test duty, Leicestershire's chances largely revolve around a repeat of last summer's remarkable lack of injuries. In the days of Les Taylor and Jonathan Agnew, the Grace Road physiotherapist got through more work than a Skegness donkey, but in 1996 Leicestershire used only 13 players all season.
There have been times when they would have been grateful for 13 spectators, but while the firm that printed Leicestershire's 1997 season tickets are unlikely to get rich in a hurry, further success should see a return to the kind of audiences that used to turn up at Grace Road in the days of Illingworth, David Gower, Phillip DeFreitas and Chris Lewis.
James Whitaker, who led them to the title in his first year as captain, is in little doubt as to why Leicestershire won last summer and why they can do so again. ``We were very lucky with injuries, of course,'' he said. ``But the overriding factor last year was the team's cameraderie.
``County cricket, let's face it, can be a bit of a drudge if you allow it to be, but we got together at the start of last season and made ourselves a promise to enjoy it. You have got to look on each game as a big event, and not just another match in a crowded calendar. If there is a secret, then that is it.
``As for winning it again, why not? Winning, in my view, increases the appetite. Spraying that champagne over the balcony was a wonderful feeling and the lads would love more of it. And if anyone took us lightly last summer I don't think they'll be making that mistake again.''
Whitaker, who won his one and only England cap the last time England won the Ashes, in 1986-87, has been inside several fractious Leicestershire dressing rooms, but the days of Agnew tipping DeFreitas' kit all over the Grace Road tulip beds and Peter Willey hanging dissenters from a dressing-room peg are now a thing of the past. ``This side,'' says Whitaker, ``has easily the best team spirit in all the years I've played since 1983.''
Leicestershire also beat England to it in adopting the adage that if you can't be the part, then at least look it. The players never leave the dressing room without blazers, and razor blades are standard issue. ``It shows we care,'' says Whitaker. ``To me, smartness has always been an essential, as is timekeeping.
``Having said that, we also have a policy of treating everyone as individuals. Players are encouraged to have a say, and noone is dictated to as to how best to prepare for matches and look after their own game. It's just a question of being flexible.''
Whitaker's England ambitions were not helped by playing at Grace Road during an era in which the square was better suited to growing cabbages than playing cricket, but his insistence on good pitches has not only helped the development of batsmen like Darren Maddy, Vince Wells and Ben Smith, but also taught his bowlers the almost forgotten arts of patience and discipline.
``Our average first innings score last season was 390,'' he said. ``If our own players are to get better and develop into potential England candidates, there is no point playing on a minefield.
``I've played enough cricket in Australia to know that they develop their players on club wickets and nets that are brilliant, which is why we keep seeing them develop batsmen who play very straight and orthodox, and bowlers who learn to swing the ball. And if the ball doesn't swing, then they learn to land it on a consistent spot. Because if they don't, they know they'll get murdered.
``We're very lucky at Leicester in that we now have some of the best outdoor nets in the country. So not only have we been recementing team spirit on our pre-season tour to South Africa, we also have the chance to practise in conditions which don't dent a player's confidence.''
With Alan Mullally and David Millns forming a formidable new ball partnership, Adrian Pierson having matured into a reliable off-spinner and Gordon Parsons still taking the Cliff Richard tablets, Leicestershire have a useful attack although their chances of retaining their title must have diminished significantly with Phil Simmons being unavailable until June at the earliest because of his West Indies commitments.
They are currently attempting to replace him with the South African A all-rounder Neil Johnson, although if that falls through they will wait for Simmons.