Somerset Match Preview - 10/8/21
Mon 9 Aug 2021
Leicestershire Foxes travel to Somerset to begin their two consecutive away fixtures which will see the 2021 Royal London Cup group stage come to a close.
The Running Foxes head into the fixture on the back of a 1-run victory over Surrey on Saturday, August 7, in an enthralling rain-affected fixture that went down to the penultimate ball.
Ben Mike was the hero, claiming two wickets in the final over, alongside a run out by Arron Lilley, whilst Harry Swindells impressed with the bat after updating his List A best score in the Foxes’ innings.
Our hosts head into the clash on the back of a rain-affected defeat away at Northamptonshire as the Steelbacks ran out comfortable winners by 81 runs. Lewis Goldsworthy (80) and Josh Davey (53) impressed with the bat for Somerset, whilst Davey (2-42) also led the way with the ball.
Last Time We Met
It is six years since the Running Foxes last played Somerset in a 50-over match, which took place at the Uptonsteel County Ground on the Tuesday, August 18, 2015.
Winning the toss and asking Leicestershire to bat first, Somerset reduced us to 19-4 during the powerplay and eventually dismissed the Foxes for 120, despite some lower-order resistance. Lewis Hill is the only current Leicestershire player to feature that day, and no doubt he will be looking to improve on his two-ball duck in that previous meeting.
Our opposition eased to victory in just 89 balls, making 122-1 in reply. Peter Trego smashed 71 not out from 31 balls while Tom Cooper (43no, 35b) provided support. Several Somerset players from that match - James Hildreth and Josh Davey - could feature against us on Tuesday.
Head to Head
Rehan Ahmed v Lewis Goldsworthy
Our 16-year-old wrist spin all-rounder, Rehan Ahmed, is getting better and better in his debut season for the Running Foxes, taking four wickets with a career best 2-25 from his eight overs in our dramatic 1-run win against Surrey on Saturday. Rehan has also contributed 48 useful runs with the bat, averaging 24, and has already served notice of his hitting intent, with 34(25b) in the Second XI T20 including four fours and a six, and his all-round abilities will be key to our potential success in this match.
At 20 years old, Somerset’s spin all-rounder, Lewis Goldsworthy, is four years ahead of Rehan in his career and has impressed with the bat in the Royal London Cup this year, hitting 80 (61b) against Northamptonshire Steelbacks, and 96 (105b) against Surrey in his last two outings. While Goldsworthy’s slow left-arm hasn’t been a huge wicket-taking threat so far in the competition, he has shown his ability in the T20 Blast, taking 12 wickets at 22, with an economy rate of 7.76, so his all-round threat is something which the Running Foxes squad will need to address if they are to get the win on Tuesday.
Leicestershire Foxes Squad
Head Coach Paul Nixon takes a travelling party of 14 down to Taunton, with Abi Sakande the only omission from the 15-man squad named for the visit of Surrey.
Leicestershire Foxes from 14: Rehan Ahmed, Ed Barnes, Will Davis, Sam Evans, Gavin Griffiths, Lewis Hill (C), Louis Kimber, Arron Lilley, Ben Mike, Rishi Patel, George Rhodes, Scott Steel, Harry Swindells (wk), Roman Walker.
