Leicestershire are riding high at the top of Division Two, having beaten Gloucestershire in the last round of matches. They have taken full advantage of early season conditions, highlighted by Ian Holland who tops the Division Two wicket taking with 20 at 15.40. His medium pace works with the Dukes ball and green tinged pitches, many comparing him to Darren Stevens, and he has been well supported by the extra pace of Ben Green, Logan van Beek, Ben Mike and Tom Scriven. Unfortunately Mike and Scriven missed the last game through injury, although Chris Wright, who suffered a knee injury in the first game, was back playing for the seconds his week, while Josh Hull made his first appearance against Gloucestershire. The Foxes have relied almost exclusively on seam, with Rehan Ahmed taking one wicket.
The batting has been productive, collecting more bonus points than any other club. Peter Handscomb has been leading from the front, with 527 runs at 64.40, while Lewis Hill, Sol Budinger and Ollie Cox are all averaging in the high fourties. Rishi Patel’s season was halted by a dislocated thumb in the opening game, but he was back in action last week.
Northants put on a poor batting display on a green top at Canterbury in the opening game, but have first innings scores of 496 and 500 in their last two matches, having had a bye last week. Rain foiled them against Lancashire, having asked the Red Rose county to follow on, while they were unable to breakdown the Derbyshire batting in round two. The bowling is the problem, their leading wicket taker being leg spinner Calvin Harrison, who came on loan from Nottinghamshire for two games. Justin Broad has 10 wickets at 28.00 and Raphael Weatherall eight at 23.12, from just two games. They have not been helped by injuries to Ben Sanderson, Gus Miller and George Scrimshaw which has kept them out of the first three matches. Sanderson in particular would have made good use of early season conditions, having taken almost twice as many wickets as any of the other bowlers in last year’s Championship. New recruit, Liam Guthrie has chipped in with seven wickets, but at a pricey 46.42.
Luke Procter and Saif Zaib have scored 249 and 241 runs respectively and both average in the sixties. The good news is that the Northants batters have scored their runs fast enough in the last two games such that they have claimed nine of ten possible batting bonus points, and if they can get the likes of Sanderson back fit, should be able to push for the win. Sanderson has been in action for the seconds, and we wait and see if he is considered fit enough to start this week.
Leicestershire will start the game as favourites, but the only game played at Grace Road this season was a high scoring draw against Derbyshire. With the warm, dry weather forecast, it could be a hard toil for the bowlers this week.
Key players:
Ian Holland was finding it difficult to get into the Hampshire side, with their depth of pace bowling, but he has certainly repaid his new employers this season, his wickets key to their three wins. He will also be hoping to contribute with runs, and was happy to bat in the top three following the injury to Patel on the first morning of the season. He scored 74 batting at three against Derbyshire, but was back down the order last week, where undoubtedly he will feel more comfortable.
Raphael Weatherall was left out of the side that played Derbyshire in Northants last outing, but the 20-year-old took six wickets in the match against Kent and has eight in his two games so far at 23.12. He has previously been part of the England under 19s set up and with the ability to bowl in the mid 80’s, should have a bright future if he stays fit.
Team News:
Leicestershire’s Chris Wright and Sam Wood are on the way back from injury, while Matt Salisbury still looks to be out of action. Peter Handscomb had to take the gloves in the second innings last week following a blow to Ollie Cox, and we wait to see if Cox is fully recovered.
Leicestershire squad (from): Peter Handscomb (c), Rehan Ahmed, Sol Budinger, Ollie Cox (wk), Ben Green, Lewis Hill, Ian Holland, Josh Hull, Louis Kimber, Rishi Patel, Harry Swindells, Liam Trevaskis, Logan van Beek, Roman Walker
Northants have a number of bowlers out injured and we wait to see if Sanderson returns.
Northamptonshire squad (from): Luke Procter (c), George Bartlett, Justin Broad, Liam Guthrie, Rob Keogh, Dom Leech, Tiaan Louw, Lewis McManus (wk), James Sales, Ben Sanderson, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Raphael Weatherall, Saif Zaib
Weather and Conditions
The forecast is for warm and sunny conditions all week, with temperatures slightly cooler by the time the match starts.
Given the success of the Leicestershire seam attack, we might expect to see some grass on the pitch at Grace Road. However, taking wickets might be hard work.
Date: 2nd May 2025
Time: 11:00
Ground: Upton County Ground, Leicester
