Worcestershire Rapids | T20 Match Preview - 29/05/2023

Leicestershire make the trip to the West Midlands to face Worcestershire Rapids on Bank Holiday Monday, going in search of their first Vitality Blast win of 2023.

After a tough couple of opening fixtures, the Foxes will be desperate to get their points tally up and running against a Worcestershire side who hold a 100% win record so far this term.

The latest victory came in dramatic circumstances on Friday night, as Adam Finch clubbed 30 off 10 balls, including three sixes in the last over to take his side to a two-wicket victory.

Last Time We Met:

Leicestershire have happy memories of last season’s meetings. The Foxes won both T20 fixtures, including a 26-run triumph at New Road which saw Naveen take 5/11 from four overs “ the Club’s joint-second best figures in the format.

In the reverse fixture, the Foxes restricted the Rapids to just 116/9 from their allocation, with Naveen, Callum Parkinson and Ben Mike all claiming three wickets apiece.

It took just 12.1 overs for the Foxes to chase down the total, with Nick Welch (41*) and Arron Lilley (68*) putting on 100 unbroken runs in fewer than 10 overs together.

Head-to-Head:

As Friday proved against the Foxes, the middle overs can be crucial to the outcome of the result. The Foxes endured a spell of just one boundary in six overs after the Powerplay, while the Bears hit at least one boundary in each of the opening 11 overs.

With this in mind, Leicestershire will be looking to Rishi Patel to add some much-needed impetus during that phase. The 24-year-old has shown in red-ball cricket this summer that he possess the ability to seamlessly switch gears, combining sweet timing with brute power on his way to three hundreds in the opening five Championship matches.

Adam Hose holds the same qualities for the Rapids. His move from Warwickshire has started well, with the destructive batsman a thorn in Leicestershire’s side during the recent Championship meeting, while his two T20 knocks (61, 40b & 44, 26b) have been imperative to his side’s successes.

Squad:

Paul Nixon names an unchanged 14-strong squad for the trip to New Road.

Leicestershire Foxes: Ackermann*, Ahmed, Budinger, Davis, Finan, Hill, Lilley, Mulder, Naseem, Parkinson, Patel, Scriven, Swindells+, Welch.