Worcestershire CCC Match Preview - 07/04/22

Ahead of the Running Foxes' opening game of the 2022 campaign against Worcestershire CCC, read our comprehensive preview below.

Last season:

Both teams came fifth in the initial six-team group stages of the LV=Insurance County Championship last season, with Leicestershire edging our upcoming opponents by two points in that first round.

However, Worcestershire came third in the subsequent Division Three, beating the Running Foxes by 13 points to put us in fourth place.

Last time we met:

We actually met Worcestershire in our last red ball match of 2021, and also our final T20 match as well, so this week’s opposition will be rather familiar to both Leicestershire players and supporters.  

The Running Foxes fell to a ten-wicket defeat in that final Division Three match, away at New Road.  Having won the toss and decided to bat, Leicestershire posted 222 with Louis Kimber the only batter to pass 40, with our young number five hitting a career-best 71.

In reply, Worcestershire amassed a 200 run lead, with seven batters scoring 35+, and arguably their best batter, Jake Libby, top scoring with 77. Chris Wright, Abi Sakande and Callum Parkinson all took three wickets apiece.

Despite a fighting 90 by George Rhodes against his former team, and support from Ben Mike (58), we were only able to score 211 in our second innings, meaning Worcestershire needed just 12 to win in their second innings.

Opposition players to watch:

Not only did Libby top score for Worcestershire in that final red ball match of the 2021 season against us, but the ex-Notts man amassed 1075 runs across the Championship season at an average of just under 60.

Being one of the few players to pass the 1000 run mark makes Libby one of the most in-from red-ball batters in domestic cricket. He scored four hundreds and four fifties, suggesting that he’s been good at converting starts once he’s got set.

Joe Leach took 38 wickets at a shade over 30 runs per wicket last season, meaning that he was Worcestershire’s leading red-ball wicket-taker in 2021. Dillon Pennington (29 wickets in 2021) is likely to join Leach in being a major threat with the ball for our opposition.

Our players to watch:

Lewis Hill was close to the 1000-run mark last season in the Championship, ultimately falling 56 runs short with 944. Hill was Leicestershire’s leading run-scorer in red-ball cricket in 2021, hitting over 250 runs more than any of his team-mates. The Leicester man will naturally be keen to have an even better season this year, and breaking that 1000-run mark would be an excellent measure of that.

Beuran Hendricks is likely to make his Leicestershire debut in this match, with the South African international having joined the Running Foxes as an overseas player. The left-arm pacer should be able to offer a point of difference to the Leicestershire bowling attack, as Hendricks has taken 332 wickets at an average of just over 24 in his career. He will join Chris Wright as the attack leaders, creating an exciting new-ball partnership for Leicestershire in the coming season.

Squad:

Head Coach Paul Nixon has named a 13-man squad for the season opener at Uptonsteel County Ground, with overseas star Beuran Hendricks in line for his Running Foxes debut.

Leicestershire CCC from 13:

Colin Ackermann (C), Hassan Azad, Ed Barnes, Will Davis, Sam Evans, Beuran Hendricks, Lewis Hill, Louis Kimber, Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, George Rhodes, Harry Swindells (wk), Chris Wright.