Defeat at Leicestershire
Leicestershire Foxes kept themselves in the hunt for the knock-out stage of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a 164-run victory over Somerset at Uptonsteel Grace Road, putting them on 16 points in a tight Group A table with two matches to play.
Half-centuries by Ben Cox (89 off 80 balls), Ian Holland – a List A career-best 77 off 68 – and Nick Kelly (60 off 66) powered a Leicestershire middle-order fightback from 124 for five as the Foxes posted 289 for eight, Jake Ball and Migael Pretorius taking three wickets each for Somerset.
The visitors then 125 all out. Alex Green finished with three for 28, Ben Green three for 36. JT Langridge was Somerset’s top scorer with 32, batting at number 10.
This came after Leicestershire, put in, had themselves been 13 for three.
Stephen Eskinazi edged behind and Rishi Patel, fresh from his 53-ball hundred at Northampton on Friday, was struck in front as Pretorius removed both openers, Josh Shaw then nipped one back to bowl Ben Mike.
Kelly and Hamza Shaikh added 76 in 14 overs but were parted when Shaikh, having twice lifted Langridge for leg-side sixes, found square leg attempting something similar off Ball.
New Zealand international Kelly drove profitably until off-spinner Archie Vaughan induced a low return catch, leaving the Foxes 124 for five from 28.
Yet Somerset’s bowlers could not maintain the pressure and Cox and Holland, busily enterprising from the start, transformed the innings, adding 155 in 124 balls to beat the county’s List A record for the sixth wicket, set by Wiaan Mulder and Louis Kimber with 146 against Surrey in 2023.
Cox, resourceful with his shot selection, brought up his half-century by pulling Langridge for one of 10 fours, soon lofting the same bowler over the legside rope.
Both fell in the last two overs, but the damage was done from a Somerset viewpoint.
Holland, dismissed off the last ball of Leicestershire’s innings, bowled the first ball of Somerset’s reply and removed Vaughan with his sixth. Somerset then slipped to 48 for five inside 15 overs.
Ben Green’s opening seven overs against his former team cost just 21 runs and claimed three wickets as Sav Perera was caught behind before Lewis Goldsworthy and Tom Lammonby took turns to be caught at square cover. Alex Green then bowled Josh Thomas.
Tom Scriven trapped Johnny Connell in front and bowled Pretorius in the space of four deliveries as Somerset slid further to 68 for seven. That became 76 for eight as Ben Church reverse swept Rizvi but found Kelly, who pulled off a fine, diving catch at deep cover.
Langridge thumped Ben Green for towering back-to-back sixes, but Alex Green yorked him and had Ball caught at mid-off to complete a resounding win.
After the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “I think we started brilliantly with the new ball in the first innings but it was a great partnership between Cox and Holland. They showed their experience and played really well and posted a score. You have to give a lot of credit, they played really well and it was a great example in 50-over cricket how you build a partnership. They found a boundary early in the over and manipulated the strike really well and took it really deep in the innings.
“I felt the majority of our guys were outstanding with the ball but couldn’t quite get there. Even so, we were confident we could chase down that total but we needed to get through the new ball with minimal damage. We didn’t do that and the innings never really got going.
“But while today was disappointing, it was the first time where the batting hasn’t fired, so it’s certainly not doom and gloom. We need to obviously regroup, certainly learn from it, but we’ve got three opportunities left and we start at home on Friday.”
