Match Preview: Leicestershire Foxes v Lancashire, Men's Metro Bank One Day Cup
Leicestershire Foxes v Lancashire
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Group A
Sunday July 26, 2026, 11am
The Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road
Lancashire are going on a Fox hunt in their bid to get off the mark in this season’s One-Day Cup.
The Red Rose were beaten in their opener against Surrey at Sedbergh School on Tuesday, by seven wickets as the visitors confidently chased down a target of 281 thanks largely to an unbeaten 82 from Adam Thomas.
Keaton Jennings, Marcus Harris and Michael Jones all posted scores in the sixties. The fact Jennings with 64, Harris 60 and Josh Bohannon 40 all got in and didn’t go on to get a really bog score was telling in the end. Jones crashed his 67 off 45 balls late on.
Leicestershire have had a busy start to this competition, with opening matches at home to Gloucestershire on Wednesday and away to Surrey yesterday.
The Foxes won them both under the captaincy of Stephen Eskinazi, the latest by five wickets against Surrey at Guildford yesterday as they chased 271. Rishi Patel and Hamza Shaikh both scored centuries.
Opposition
Leicestershire won this competition back in 2023.
Their triumphant coach Alfonso Thomas remains in charge. He was interim during that campaign but permanent now. He also led them to the Rothesay County Championship Division Two title last summer and the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup back in 2024.
There has been quite a bit of personnel change on the playing side of things since the 2023 win.
Competition captain and opening batter Stephen Eskinazi has joined from Middlesex, for example, while New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel is their overseas player.
Leicestershire have also signed emerging batter Hamza Shaikh from Warwickshire on a three-year deal, and he joined in time for this competition.
They have not re-signed last season’s leading run-scorer Shan Masood, the Pakistani, who contributed 400 runs. But they do have potent teenaged quick Alex Green after he claimed 18 wickets last year.
Opposition player to watch
Young pace bowler Alex Green was a sensation in the 2025 competition, taking five wickets in an innings three times en-route to a haul of 18 wickets.
He was the second leading wicket-taker in the competition.
A tall bowler with good pace, Green is still only 19 but has broken through into the Foxes’ team across all formats of the game.
He claimed three wickets in Wednesday’s win over Gloucestershire, coming on first change.
He added two more against Surrey at Guildford yesterday, a game which - as aforementioned - saw the Foxes chase down a target of 271 with comfort.
Previous meeting
Lancashire and Leicestershire were placed in Group A in 2023, when the Foxes won this competition. And they beat the Red Rose at Emirates Old Trafford along the way.
And it was a high-scoring game which saw centuries scored by Rishi Patel, Colin Ackermann and Keaton Jennings. Two of those players will play at Grace Road tomorrow, with Ackermann having since swapped Grace Road for Chester-le-Street up in Durham.
Leicestershire racked up 411-6 from their 50 overs batting first.
Opener Patel stood out with 161 off 129 balls, while Ackermann blazed to 100 not out off 62. Both hit five sixes and shared 110 for the fourth wicket.
Jack Blatherwick claimed three wickets for Lancashire, who were well placed at 152-2 in the 20th over with opener Jennings going nicely en-route to 127 off 109 balls.
Dane Vilas (57) and Tom Bailey (60) also contributed, but Lancashire needed more and were bowled out for 316 inside 43 overs.
The leg-spin of Uttam Ramji struck three times for Leicestershire.
What they said
George Balderson is confident Lancashire will be better for the experience of Tuesday’s opener against Surrey even if they didn’t come out of it with the desired result.
Lancashire’s opening day defeat is by no means a defining one, though they would dearly love to get on the board in the East Midlands to start a landmark week which includes home games against Kent and Nottinghamshire at Farington on Tuesday and Thursday.
“There's a lot we can learn from this,” said the all-rounder.
“It's only our first game together as this group, and we'll come out the other side of it better, I'm sure.
“It's a good opportunity for all the lads to try and play some really good cricket, which we haven't done so far this year. And, seven more games to go.”
In preview to the Surrey game, Balderson spoke of his own delight at being appointed as the Red Rose captain for this competition. And ahead of Leicester, he has spoken about what it means for his family.
“They come everywhere,” he added.
“I don't think they've missed a game for a couple of years now, so I'm sure they'll be thrilled.”
How’s Stat!
Marcus Harris needs two more runs to reach 2,000 in all cricket for Lancashire.
The Australian overseas star has posted 1998 runs in 27 appearances across the formats, including 12 fifties and five hundreds. He's averaging 52.57.
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