Match Preview | T20 Blast | Northamptonshire Steelbacks | 1 June 2025

Leicestershire will be looking to make it two wins from two in the Vitality Blast when they take on Northamptonshire Steelbacks at The County Ground on Sunday.

The Foxes come into the contest on the back of an impressive five-wicket win over Derbyshire on Friday, spearheaded by Sol Budinger’s record-breaking 15-ball fifty.

The Steelbacks also enter the game on a high, having defeated Yorkshire by 13 runs in a high-scoring affair at Headingley.

Squad:

No alterations to the 14-strong squad which defeated the Falcons on Friday, meaning Alex Green, Harry Swindells and Roman Walker will all be vying to enter the XI.

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

Famous Fixture:

These two sides have experienced their fair share of thrillers over the years, with last year’s meeting in Northampton one such evening of box-office entertainment.

Chasing 209 for victory, Rishi Patel blasted a record-equalling 41-ball century to put Leicestershire in the driving seat at 141 for one after 12 overs.

But his dismissal spurred a home fightback, one which went down to the final ball. With Ben Cox falling off the penultimate delivery, loanee Lewis Goldsworthy needed four to tie the game or six to win it. With a streaky edge, he managed the former, meaning the points were shared in a drama-filled affair.

Decisive Duel:

Fast starts with the bat in T20 cricket are always priceless, and this contest will pit two of the most explosive openers together as Sol Budinger faces Matthew Breetzke.

Budinger blitzed his T20 career-best and Leicestershire’s fastest ever fifty on Friday night, smashing his way to a 15-ball half-century by taking 29 off a Pat Brown over. The left-hander strikes at a healthy 145.67 in Blast cricket, and will be looking to go even bigger than his opening day heroics on what’s usually a high-scoring ground.

Back for his second season with the Steelbacks, South African international Breetzke is a dangerous customer, having notched 460 runs at an average of 38.33 and strike rate of 153.84 in his debut campaign. His wicket will need to be early if the Foxes are to put themselves in pole position on Sunday.

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