Match Preview | T20 Blast | Lancashire Lightning | 4 June 2025

Leicestershire will be looking to avenge their first defeat of the season when they head north to face Lancashire in round three of the Vitality Blast on Wednesday.

After Friday’s victory over Derbyshire, the Foxes suffered a five-wicker defeat to the Steelbacks at the weekend, ending their proud record as the only unbeaten county in the country.

Lancashire are flying in T20 cricket, with three wins from three so far in the North Group. Following wins against Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire on home soil, Lighting recorded a four-wicket away triumph over Durham on Sunday, led by the returning Jimmy Anderson (4-0-17-3).

Squad:

Rehan Ahmed’s return after England Lions duty headlines the squad news, with the all-rounder replacing Alex Green in the 14-strong party to travel to Manchester.

Leicestershire Foxes: Ahmed, Budinger, Cox+, Hill, Kimber*, Masood, Patel, Salisbury, Scriven, Swindells, Trevaskis, van Beek, Walker, Wood

Famous Fixture:

Rewinding to 2018, Mohammad Nabi’s sensational innings inspired a five-wicket win to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Chasing 191 after home opener Alex Davies hit an unbeaten 94 (56b), the Foxes found themselves 14 for three inside the first three overs. Ben Raine (44, 30b) and Colin Ackermann (45, 26b) led a fightback before Nabi took centre stage.

The Afghan all-rounder went berserk, clubbing 86 not out from just 32 balls - Leicestershire’s highest individual total against Lancashire “ to get the side home with eight balls to spare. His knock featured eight sixes, with the overseas star clearing the ropes by over thirty yards in some instances.

Decisive Duel:

As Leicestershire found out to their advantage on Friday and peril on Sunday, commanding the Powerplay can make or break games. When the Foxes field, Logan van Beek versus Keaton Jennings will be a key battle.

Van Beek has made early breakthroughs in both games so far, with the Netherlands international’s ability to vary his lengths and pace displaying exactly why he has almost 200 T20 wickets to his name.

Jennings is leading the Blast run-scoring charts with 185 at 61.66 this term. The left-hander made 95 in his last home game, as part of an explosive opening stand with Luke Wells. The winner of this particular duel may well decide the direction of the game on Wednesday.

Follow The Action:

You can follow our play-by-play feed on X (@leicsccc), as well as updates on Instagram (@leicsccc) and Facebook (Leicestershire County Cricket Club). Our Match Centre will also be running with a live feed of the fixture.