Match Preview | Nottinghamshire | 25-27 March 2025

Rehan Ahmed and Ben Green have joined Leicestershire’s squad ahead of the Foxes’ final pre-season friendly, starting on Wednesday at Uptonsteel County Ground (11am).

East Midlands counterparts Nottinghamshire will make the short trip to Aylestone for the three-day fixture, which will act as Leicestershire’s last dress-rehearsal before the 2025 County Championship opener away at Glamorgan on 4 April.

SQUAD:

Wicketkeeper Ben Cox once again captains the 13-strong squad, with all-rounders Ahmed and Green replacing namesake Alex Green and Harry Swindells in the matchday party.

Ben Green will link up with Alfonso Thomas’ side on day two, having recently returned from Somerset’s tour of Abu Dhabi. The 27-year-old will remain on loan with the Foxes for the opening seven rounds of the Rothesay County Championship.

Leicestershire: Ahmed, Budinger, Cox*+, B Green, Hill, Holland, Kimber, Mike, Patel, Scriven, Trevaskis, Walker, Wright.

HOW CAN I FOLLOW?

As per the Leeds/Bradford UCCE fixture last week, all three days will be open to the public, free of charge, with entry to be granted via the Curzon Road gate. Please note, limited facilities will be open.

The Club plan to provide a restricted live stream via Foxes TV for all three days. You can subscribe to the channel HERE.

Updates will also be provided across Leicestershire’s portfolio of social media channels, including X, Facebook and Instagram, while a post-day match report will be available on the Club website each day.

“EVERYTHING IS IN GOOD ORDER” | BEN COX:

After scoring a hundred on his first appearance of the year, we caught up with stand-in skipper, Ben Cox. The wicketkeeper-batter gives his reflections on last week’s fixture against Leeds/Bradford UCCE, looks ahead to the test presented by Nottinghamshire, and discusses being buoyed by the returning Rehan Ahmed and Ben Green.

“Last week was a great run out. We were very lucky with the weather and the facilities were brilliant, the groundstaff did a great job. The bowlers got overs under their belts across the course of the three days, and batters had valuable time in the middle too. We got exactly what we wanted out if it.

“For me, it was nice to be back out there with the bat. At this time of year, you just want to spend time at the crease, and it felt like everything was in good order. This week will be a different test, but we want the same outcomes “ to score runs and spend time at the crease. Last week set me up perfectly and gave me the confidence I needed going into the first game.

“We’ve spoken as a group about what we want to achieve as a group across the next three days. It’s not outcome based, we want to be measured on sticking to our processes over long periods of time, which we can take into the season. Notts are a Division One side with a strong bowling attack, but we need to do the same things across the board, nothing much will change our end.

“Greeny gives us exactly what we saw last year. His control with the ball is excellent. He shapes it nicely, gets good bounce, and is different to what we’ve got. He certainly gives us another string to our bow.

“Obviously, Rehan is a superstar. Having him in our XI makes us stronger, and I find the injection of his personality into the group very refreshing. He has a very youthful personality, he loves the game and that’s only going to be a benefit to the side.”