Match Preview | County Championship | Gloucestershire | 25-28 April 2025

The Foxes are on the road again, as they head to the West Country to take on Gloucestershire in round four of the Rothesay County Championship on Friday.

Leicestershire are still proudly perched atop of Division Two following a 15-point haul at Old Trafford last time out. Alfonso Thomas’ side will be boosted by the return of both Rishi Patel and Josh Hull for the trip to Bristol.

Like Leicestershire, Gloucestershire were pushing for victory last week but had to settle for a draw against Kent at Canterbury. Glos currently sit seventh after the opening three games.

Squad:

Two big boosts for the Foxes, as Josh Hull and Rishi Patel both return to the matchday 13 following early season injuries.

Hull made his comeback for the Second XI last week, having not featured since his Test debut last September, while Patel has missed the previous two matches after suffering a dislocated thumb on day one of the campaign.

The physio room has gained two new casualties, however. Ben Mike (back) and Tom Scriven (abdominal issue) are both ruled out this week.

Leicestershire: Ahmed, Budinger, Cox+, A Green, B Green, Handscomb*, Hill, Holland, Hull, Kimber, Patel, van Beek, Walker.

Last Time We Met:

The two teams played out a high scoring draw at Seat Unique Stadium last August. It was a memorable fixture for Ian Holland, who recorded his maiden Leicestershire hundred during the first innings, as Leicestershire posted 402. Rehan Ahmed (60), Liam Trevaskis (50) and Scriven (60) also in the runs.

Gloucestershire made hay in response, posting 544/4 thanks to double hundreds from Ben Charlesworth and James Bracey.

Bad light forced the players from the field at 4:20pm on day four, with the Foxes 304/5 second time round. Hands were shaken shortly after, with Rishi Patel (75), Peter Handscomb (63*), and Holland (56) all passing fifty.

Fox to Watch:

Now a permanent member of the Foxes family, Ian Holland has enjoyed a phenomenal start to the new season.

He sits joint-third in the Division Two wicket-taking charts, with 13 at an average of 18.46 this term. His movement and metronomic accuracy with the new ball has been too much to handle for opposition batters, and he could well hold the key in the absence of Leicestershire’s next two leading wicket-takers “ Mike (10) and Scriven (9) - this week.

Holland also has a crucial role with the bat. Batting at three this year, he’s backed up the rapid starts made by Rehan Ahmed and Sol Budinger, adding 121 runs at 30.25 from his first four innings.

Opposition Player to Watch:

James Bracey has been a thorn in Leicestershire’s side before, and his early season form suggests he could well be the key wicket this week.

An unbeaten 151 against Kent leaves his average at 87.33 from five innings, as the 27-year-old moved past 8,000 runs for the county.

Follow The Action:

You can stay up-to-date with play-by-play coverage and post-day reaction throughout the fixture across our social media channels. Our Match Centre will also show a live feed, scorecard, and clips of the action.