Nottinghamshire CCC Match Preview - 05/09/2022

The season so far:

There's a rather polarised feel to the Division Two table when looking at the two teams. The Running Foxes prop up the table with 72 points, while our opponents Nottinghamshire lead the way with 195, in their quest for promotion.

Last time we met:

The two teams last met in June, with Notts emerging victorious with 24 points following their victory at Uptonsteel County Ground. Batting first, Leicestershire posted 440 all out, although this wasn't enough for a first-innings lead. Nottinghamshire (led by Ben Duckett, who posted 145) showed admirable application to both create a 108-run lead and then skittle the Foxes for 99 in their second innings.

Opposition players to watch:

With top scorer Ben Duckett away on England duty, the runs from opener Haseeb Hameed will be crucial for our Midlands neighbours. The right-hander is not far from 1,000 runs for the season (912) with an average of 57.00.

With ball in hand, Dane Paterson's 44 wickets lead the wicket-charts for Notts, taking two five-wicket hauls and a 10-wickets in match collection also. Those wickets have cost just under 22 apiece - top-level numbers - illustrating the threat that the overseas pacer poses to the Leicestershire batting group.

Our players to watch:

Following a Hundred largely sat on the bench, Colin Ackermann will be keen to keep his run of good form going that he had prior to his absence for that tournament. He's now hit 613 runs at an average of 40.86 so far in the County Championship this season.

Chris Wright is the joint-highest wicket taker for Leicestershire in red ball cricket this year, with 19 wickets, and after a successful stint in the RL50 team as well, Wright will be full of confidence heading into the backend of the red-ball season.

Squad:

Head Coach, Paul Nixon, names a much changed 13-man squad from our last County Championship fixture.

Wiaan Mulder is on Test duty with South Africa, while Lewis Hill is ruled out with a hand injury sustained before our Royal London Cup quarter-final. Tom Scriven is also ruled out with a hamstring issue.

Decisions have also been taken to allow Beuran Hendricks to fly home to South Africa, while Ben Mike has not been considered for selection following his impending move to Yorkshire.

Rehan Ahmed, Hassan Azad, Ed Barnes, Sam Evans, Michael Finan and Nick Welch all come into contention.

Leicestershire: Ackermann, Ahmed, Azad, Barnes, Evans, Finan, Kimber, Parkinson*, Patel, Swindells+, Walker, Welch, Wright.