Essex v Leicestershire Foxes
Metro Bank One Day Cup
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Wednesday 31 July, 11am
Having kick-started the 2024 Metro Bank One Day Cup with victory over Gloucestershire in Bristol, Essex return home for another midweek match, this time against defending champions Leicestershire Foxes.
The eventual victory margin in the West Country was 63 runs, sealed after the Eagles, defending 262-8, bowled the hosts out for 199.
There were multiple contributions with the bat on a pitch that proved difficult at times, with Luc Benkenstein’s 63-ball 67 and 52 from Robin Das being the standouts.
In reply, Gloucestershire stammered to 33-4 and 78-8 as the pitch’s demons grew more prevalent, with Shane Snater taking 3/39 and Jamal Richards and Ben Allison evenly sharing four more.
Ajeet Singh Dale at least offered the hosts some respectability with a late half-century, but victory was confirmed when Allison brought an end to his breezy 63 off 34 in the 37th over.
That confirmed a first win in the 2024 competition for Anthony McGrath’s side, and provides an ideal thrust moving forward ahead of a showdown with the holders.
Squad
Head Coach McGrath has named a 13-player squad, with the one change from Sunday’s clash being the return of Matt Critchley.
The Opposition
Leicestershire’s 2023 title win, which came via a nail-biting two-run win over Hampshire in the final at Trent Bridge, was only their sixth List A trophy, and first in 38 years.
It harked back to the Foxes’ heyday in the 1970s, when under the captaincy of Ray Illingworth, the county won both the Benson & Hedges Cup and the John Player League twice in seven years.
Another B&H Cup in 1985 was the East Midlands outfit’s most recent triumph in the format before Lewis Hill lifted the trophy last September.
The breakout star of that victorious campaign, tall fast bowler Josh Hull, was recruited into Manchester Originals’ squad for this year’s edition of The Hundred, along with Rehan Ahmed and Rishi Patel.
Despite only losing those three players, the second-fewest in Group B, Leicestershire have made an indifferent start to their title defence, winning one and losing one of their two matches so far.
Opener Sol Budinger leads the way with the bat, having scored 93 runs at 46.50, while Tom Scriven has claimed three wickets at 13.66.
Leicestershire Foxes squad: TBC
Last Time We Met
It was only last summer that Essex met Leicestershire in List A cricket most recently, with Kibworth Cricket Club to the south-east of Leicester city centre seeing a two-wicket win for the hosts.
After calling correctly, Tom Westley elected to bat first and Essex put up 250-8, with Charlie Allison’s 85 and 75 off 71 from Noah Thain the eye-catching standouts.
The England Under-19 duo put on 105 for the sixth wicket to help the Eagles recover from a potentially precarious 95-5, before Will Buttleman struck 22 off 15 to hoist the score to something defendable.
Aaron Beard struck twice early on to reduce the hosts to 48-2, but a 113-run third-wicket stand between Sol Budinger and Peter Handscomb guided the Foxes back to dominance.
Regular wickets did continue to go down thanks to Aron Nijjar claiming 3/34 in the Eagles’ standout bowling performance, but the runs were also continuing to flow.
Despite Leicestershire still needing ten more to win when Beau Webster took the eighth wicket, a resistant 11 from Louis Kimber helped shepherd the Foxes over the line.
Group B Table
Correct prior to the start of Surrey v Gloucestershire on Tuesday 30 July.
How To Watch
If you are not able to make it to The Cloud County Ground in person, the match will be live-streamed on the EssexCricketTV YouTube channel and will be available to watch through the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
A report will be published on the Club website at the conclusion of the game, while live updates and highlights will be provided on the Essex Cricket social media channels.
Tickets
As ever, Essex Members are able to access this fixture on presentation of a valid card, and blocks 1-11, as well as the Doug Insole Pavilion benches, are reserved for their use only.
The remainder of the ground is available for general admission tickets, which are still available for this game and when bought in advance are priced at just £18 for adults, £12 for 18-25-year-olds, and £6 for under-18s.
To secure your seats, visit the link below:
School’s out, cricket’s in: 50-over cricket in Chelmsford this summer
White-ball action at The Cloud County Ground continues into July and August as the Metro Bank One-Day Cup gets underway.
The competition has not only recently proven itself to be wide open and highly competitive, but also a breeding ground for the next generation of elite cricketers.
With all matches set to take place during the school summer holidays, each fixture makes a perfect family day out in the heart of Chelmsford.
Wednesday 31 July, 11am: Essex v Leicestershire Foxes – buy here
Sunday 04 August, 11:00am: Essex v Glamorgan – buy here
Friday 09 August, 2:00pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
Alongside the offering of men’s Metro Bank One Day Cup action, The Cloud County Ground will also host one more Women’s London Championship match during the summer holidays.
Wednesday 14 August, 11:00am: Essex Women v Sussex – buy here
