Match Preview | County Championship | Gloucestershire | 8 September - 11 September 2025

County Championship cricket is back, and there has seldom been a more important month in recent memory for Leicestershire.

21 points from the promised land of Division One, the Foxes welcome Gloucestershire for round 12 of the season on Monday, with the potential to be promoted by the end of the week.

Leicestershire’s current points tally sits at 193, 28 clear of second-placed Glamorgan and 52 clear of Derbyshire in third, while the visitors occupy fifth spot on 131.

Squad:

Ian Holland leads the Foxes for the first time, deputising for Club captain Peter Handscomb, who has returned home to Melbourne.

Ben Green - recalled by Somerset on Sunday - is unavailable for the final three rounds, while Rehan Ahmed is away with England. Tom Scriven and Liam Trevaskis miss out through injury.

New signings Stevie Eskinazi and Jonny Tattersall are both in contention for their Leicestershire debuts, while Shan Masood could make his first Championship appearance for the Club.

Ben Cox and Josh Hull are back from The Hundred, while Ben Mike has overcome a hamstring issue. After a month-long break during the One Day Cup, Logan van Beek also returns to the fold.

Leicestershire, Budinger, Cox+, Eskinazi, Hill, Holland*, Hull, Masood, Mike, Patel, Salisbury, Tattersall, van Beek, Wright.

Last Time We Met:

Leicestershire took victory by two wickets during a nervy chase at Seat Unique Stadium in April. Ben Green picked up his maiden five-wicket haul (5/63), before half-centuries from Lewis Hill (55), Ian Holland (52) and Ben Cox (53) helped the Foxes accrue a narrow first innings lead.

An excellent all-round bowling display, led by Holland (4/32), second time round set up a nominal chase of 143, but conditions proved tricky as Leicestershire slipped to 42 for five.

Ben Cox’s invaluable 47 swung the game back in the Foxes’ favour before Ben Green (15*) pummelled the ball to the ropes to secure a hard-fought three-day victory.

Fox to Watch:

With the Dukes ball back in operation, the seam attack from both sides will be licking their lips. An expert exponent of movement in the Foxes’ ranks, Chris Wright could play a big part for his side this week.

The 40-year-old is just seven wickets away from 600 in the first-class arena and five away from 800 in all formats, two landmarks he’d dearly love to reach by the end of the month.

With the potential to feature alongside Ian Holland and Logan van Beek, Leicestershire’s new ball options will be plentiful this week.

Opposition Player to Watch:

On the opposing side, Gloucestershire’s Ajeet Singh-Dale will be hoping to sign off in style as he nears the end of his Glos career.

With 25 wickets this term, the 25-year-old is leading the way for his county, bringing an added degree of pace to the visiting attack.

Now into his last three games before a switch to Lancashire, the right-armer is hunting a landmark of his own before the season’s out, sitting 13 wickets shy of a first-class ton.

Tickets:

Admission and car parking can be secured in advance ONLINE from as little as £5. A reminder, play for all four days starts at 10:30am during September.

Follow The Action:

Tune into Foxes TV for our live ball-by-ball broadcast. A play-by-play feed will also be available via X (@leicsccc), with updates issued on Facebook (Leicestershire County Cricket Club) and Instagram (@leicsccc).