MATCH PREVIEW: Leicestershire v Lancashire, Men's Rothesay County Championship
Lancashire may not have clinched victory over Derbyshire right at the end of a gripping final day at Emirates Old Trafford, but they produced a performance which indicated that better things are ahead following a difficult start to the summer.
Leicestershire v Lancashire
Men's Rothesay County Championship, Division Two
Friday May 23 - Monday May 26, 2025, 11am
The Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road
With Derbyshire resisting to finish on 220-8 in pursuit of an unlikely 329 victory target, a fifth draw was added to a defeat from the six matches so far, and Lancashire face a blockbuster seventh against runaway leaders Leicestershire at Grace Road.
The Red Rose’s 13 points last weekend lifted them a place to seventh in Division Two. But a win against the Foxes at the Uptonsteel County Ground and that table will certainly look a whole lot brighter at the midway point in the campaign.
The likelihood is that five wins will be enough to secure a top-two berth for promotion. It may even be that four is adequate. With that in mind, Leicestershire are in a fabulous position at the top of Division Two.
They have won four of six so far, including last time out against Middlesex inside three days at Lord’s on Sunday - by seven wickets chasing a target of 102.
This game, set to be James Anderson’s 300th in first-class cricket, is the last before a month-long break whilst the first half of the Vitality Blast T20 competition takes place.
And a Red Rose win would give them one heck of a leg up in their promotion bid.
Opposition
Leicestershire are a county on the rise. Metro Bank One-Day Cup champions in 2023, the Foxes are on course for promotion to Division One of the Championship, where they last played back in 2003.
They have beaten Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire and Middlesex so far, also drawing with Derbyshire and Lancashire.
The latter came at Emirates Old Trafford in mid-April, a game which the visitors had the better of.
Leicestershire finished fifth last season with one win from their 14 matches.
They are coached by former South Africa fast bowler Alfonso Thomas, who was in charge on an interim basis at the end of 2023 when they won county cricket’s 50-over final, beating Hampshire at Trent Bridge. He has since taken on the role permanently.
The East Midlanders are captained by Australian wicketkeeper-batter Peter Handscomb, who has been with them since 2023.
All-rounder Ian Holland, who started the season opening the batting but has since dropped down into the middle order, is the second division’s leading wicket-taker with 27. Handscomb, meanwhile, is their leading run-scorer with 432.
This match will be skippered by current Victoria team-mates, with Marcus Harris also leading Lancashire. Harris is facing the county he represented as an overseas player both in 2021 and last summer.
New Zealand-born Dutch international fast bowler Logan van Beek is their other overseas player and has taken 19 wickets so far.
The Foxes can also call upon England youngsters Rehan Ahmed (all-rounder) and Josh Hull (left-arm quick).
Opposing player to watch
Somerset all-rounder Ben Green was signed up to another loan spell, for the first seven Championship games of this season, and he has impressed upon his return to Grace Road.
Green, aged 27, is a seamer and a powerful lower order batter who made six Division Two appearances for Leicestershire last season, hitting 231 runs and taking 11 wickets.
In half a dozen appearances so far this term, the Devonian has taken 21 wickets with a best of 5-63 and has added 207 runs down the order with a best of 37.
Green, an integral part of Somerset’s white ball plans, has made 24 career Championship appearances - 12 for his parent county since debuting in late 2018 and 12 for the Foxes over the last two summers.
Previous meeting
Lancashire and Leicestershire drew a weather-affected clash at Emirates Old Trafford in mid-April, the third round of matches this summer.
The Foxes had the better of what play was possible, with only 31 overs bowled on day one because of rain and only 16 overs sent down on day four for the same reason.
Lancashire, inserted, were bowled out for 263 in the first innings, with Marcus Harris top-scoring with 77 and seamer Tom Scriven claiming 5-46 for the visitors.
England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed made an opener’s 100 and Australian captain Peter Handscomb a middle order 142 in Leicestershire’s 491-8 declared, including two wickets each for Saqib Mahmood, John Turner and Tom Hartley.
In eight overs before close on day three, Lancashire were reduced to 16-3 second time around, Ian Holland striking twice as the visitors looked to press for victory having claimed a first-innings lead of 228.
But play only started on day four at 4.30pm because of rain, aiding the home side’s cause. They finished on 90-3, with Josh Bohannon making an unbeaten 45 and Harris 34 not out.
What they said
Dale Benkenstein says confidence is high amongst the Lancashire squad as they bid to check Leicestershire’s impressive start to the new season.
A victory may not have been forthcoming against Derbyshire at Emirates Old Trafford last time out, but it was a game the Red Rose had much the better of.
Coach Benkenstein does not hide away from the frustration and disappointment that came with his side dropping to the foot of the Division Two table after five games, admitting: “To be fairly honest, I think that’s where we deserved to be.”
However, he was much happier after match number six.
The South African said: “You’re bottom of the log and it’s disappointing. You take responsibility for that, and it’s not where we want to be.
“There’s been times where we should have won, but we’ve made some poor errors whether it’s decision-making or skill to get us into those positions.
“But, from my point of view, you look for improvement and those small gains, and we definitely look like a better side.
“Going into the next game, we’re really confident. We’ll take this momentum into Leicester.
“They’re a very good side, but there’s that belief in the team now that we can go and beat number one on the log.
“It’s normal pretty spicy (pitch) down there anyway, so we’ll have a chance to win a game.”
“If we do that, it will be a great way to finish this block.”
How’s Stat!
This is set to be Jimmy Anderson’s 300th first-class career appearance, almost 23 years after his first.
Anderson debuted for Lancashire against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford between May 31 and June 3, 2002.
In a drawn fixture, Lancashire’s team was Chilton, Swann, Fairbrother, Law, Lloyd, Hegg c&w, Chapple, Hogg, Anderson, Keedy and Martin.
The likes of Ian Ward, who was captain, Mark Ramprakash and Saqlain Mushtaq played for Surrey.
Anderson took two wickets in each innings, his first of 1,131 wickets with the red ball to date.
Of that number, 381 of those have come for Lancashire in 96 appearances.