Leicestershire County Cricket Club

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see The Blaze (women's cricket).

Leicestershire County Cricket Club

One Day name	Leicestershire Foxes
Personnel
Captain	TBC
Coach	Alfonso Thomas
Overseas player(s)	Peter Handscomb Logan van Beek
Chief executive	Sean Jarvis
Team information
Founded	25 February 1879
Home ground	Grace Road, Leicester
Capacity	6,000 cricket matches / 19,999 concerts
History
First-class debut	MCC in 1895 at  Lord's
Championship  wins	3
Pro40  wins	2
FP Trophy  wins	0
One-Day Cup  wins	1
Twenty20 Cup  wins	3
Benson & Hedges Cup  wins	3
Official website	LeicestershireCCC
First-class One-day T20

Grace Road cricket ground, Leicester

The Pavilion End

The Bennett End

Leicestershire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Leicestershire. It has also been representative of the county of Rutland. The club's limited overs team is called the Leicestershire Foxes. Founded in 1879, the club had minor county status until 1894, when it was promoted to first-class status pending its entry into the County Championship in 1895. ^[1] Since then, Leicestershire have played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England.

The club is based at Grace Road in Leicester, known as The Uptonsteel County Ground for sponsorship reasons, and has also played home games at Aylestone Road in Leicester, at Hinckley, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coalville and most recently Kibworth inside the traditional county boundaries of Leicestershire, and at Oakham, in Rutland.

In limited overs cricket, the kit colours are red shirt with green trousers in the One Day Cup and green shirt and green trousers in the T20 Blast. The shirt sponsors in the 2024 season were UptonSteel.

Leicestershire are in the second division of the County Championship and in the north group of the T20 Blast. Their best performances in recent years have come in one day cricket, winning the T20 Cup three times in eight years between 2004-11, and the One Day Cup in 2023.

Honours

See also: List of the competitive honours won by county cricket clubs in England and Wales

First XI honours

• County Championship (3) – 1975, 1996, 1998

Runners-up (2) – 1982, 1994

• Sunday/National League (2) – 1974, 1977

Runners-up: 1972, 2001

• Gillette Cup/NatWest/C&G Trophy/Friends Provident Trophy

Runners-up: 1992, 2001

• Twenty20 Cup/Friends Life t20 (3) – 2004, 2006, 2011
• One-Day Cup (1) – 2023
• Benson & Hedges Cup (3) – 1972, 1975, 1985

Runners-up: 1974, 1998

Second XI honours

• Second XI Championship (2) – 1983, 2014

Runners-up: 1961, 1975

• Second XI Trophy (5) – 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2014
• Second XI Twenty20 Cup (1) – 2014
• Minor Counties Championship (1) – 1931
• Under-25 Competition(2) – 1975, 1985

+ 1 Bain Hogg Trophy – second XI one-day competition – 1996

History

Earliest cricket

Cricket may not have reached Leicestershire until well into the 18th century. A notice in the Leicester Journal dated 17 August 1776 is the earliest known mention of cricket in the county. Soon afterwards, a Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Club was taking part in important matches, mainly against Nottingham Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). This club was prominent from 1781 until the beginning of the 19th century.

19th century

Little more is heard of Leicestershire cricket until the formation of the present club on 25 March 1879.

Essex CCC versus Leicestershire CCC at Leyton on 14, 15 & 16 May 1894 was the first first-class match for both clubs. In 1895, the County Championship was restructured into a 14-team competition with the introduction of Essex, Leicestershire and Warwickshire CCC.

Early and mid-20th century

Leicestershire's first 70 years were largely spent in lower table mediocrity, with few notable exceptions. In 1953, the motivation of secretary-captain Charles Palmer lifted the side fleetingly to third place, but most of the rest of the 1950s was spent propping up the table, or thereabouts.

Start of improvement: The late 1950s and the 1960s

Change came in the late 1950s with the recruitment of the charismatic Willie Watson at the end of a distinguished career with England and Yorkshire. Watson's run gathering sparked the home-grown Maurice Hallam into becoming one of England's best opening batsmen. In bowling, Leicestershire had an erratically successful group of seamers in Terry Spencer, Brian Boshier, John Cotton and Jack van Geloven, plus the spin of John Savage.

Another change was in the captaincy: Tony Lock, the former England and Surrey spinner who had galvanised Western Australia.

The 1970s and the first golden era

Ray Illingworth, again from Yorkshire, instilled self-belief to the extent that the county took its first ever trophy in 1972, the Benson & Hedges Cup with Chris Balderstone man of the match. This was start of the first golden era as the first of five trophies in five years and included Leicestershire's first ever County Championship title in 1975. A couple of runners up spots were also thrown in. ^[2]

The game when Leicestershire won their first ever County Championship, on 15 September 1975, marked something of a personal triumph for Chris Balderstone. Batting on 51 not out against Derbyshire at Chesterfield, after close of play he changed into his football kit to play for Doncaster Rovers in an evening match 30 miles away (a 1–1 draw with Brentford). Thus he is the only player to have played League Football and first-class cricket on the same day. He then returned to Chesterfield to complete a century the following morning and take three wickets to wrap up the title. To add to that season's success for Leicestershire was a second Benson & Hedges victory. ^[2]

The 1980s

A runners-up spot in the 1982 County Championship brought some respectability, but the decade's only silverware was in the 1985 Benson & Hedges Cup with Balderstone still on board making him the most successful trophy winner in the club's history with six. ^[2]

Success in the late 1990s

Leicestershire won the county championship in 1996, and again in 1998. This was an amazing achievement considering the resources of the club compared to other county teams. This Leicestershire side, led by Jack Birkenshaw and James Whitaker, used team spirit and togetherness to get the best out of a group of players who were either discarded from other counties or brought through the Leicestershire ranks.

This team did not have many stars, but Aftab Habib, Darren Maddy, Vince Wells, Jimmy Ormond, Alan Mullally and Chris Lewis all had chances for England. West Indian all-rounder Phil Simmons was also named as one of Wisden's Cricketers of the year in 1997 while playing for the club.

2000 and beyond: Twenty20 success and four-day struggles

The advent of Twenty20 cricket saw Leicestershire find a new source of success, winning the domestic T20 competition in 2004, 2006 and 2011. However, in the era of two-division County Championship cricket they have found success more difficult to come by, having not played in the top division since 2003 and been regular "wooden spoon" contenders. In 2013 and 2014 they finished without a single Championship win, the first team to achieve this unwanted feat in back to back seasons since Northamptonshire just before World War II. Recent years have seen an improvement in first-class results, and in 2023 they won their first trophy for 12 years, beating Hampshire at Trent Bridge to lift the One Day Cup.

Grounds

Main article: List of Leicestershire County Cricket Club grounds

Current

• Grace Road, Leicester (1877 – present)
• Oakham School, Oakham (2000 – present)
• Kibworth CC (2023 - present)

Previous

• Bath Grounds, Ashby-de-la-Zouch (1912–1964)
• Kirkby Road, Barwell (1946–1947)
• Fox and Goose Ground, Coalville (1913–1914)
• Town Ground, Coalville (1950)
• Snibston Colliery Ground, Coalville (1957–1982)
• Ashby Road, Hinckley (1911–1937)
• Coventry Road, Hinckley (1951–1964)
• Leicester Road, Hinckley (1981–1991)
• Aylestone Road, Leicester (1901–1962)
• Brush Ground, Loughborough (1953–1965)
• College Ground, Loughborough (1928–1929)
• Park Road, Loughborough (1913–1970)
• Egerton Park, Melton Mowbray (1946–1948)

Players

Further information: List of Leicestershire CCC players

Current squad

• No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
• ‡ denotes players with international caps.
•  *  denotes a player who has been awarded a county cap.

No.	Name	Nationality	Birth date	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batters
1	Sol Budinger	England	(1999-08-21) 21 August 1999 (age 25)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break
17	Louis Kimber	England	(1997-02-24) 24 February 1997 (age 27)	Right-handed	—
23	Lewis Hill*	England	(1990-10-05) 5 October 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	—
26	Rishi Patel	England	(1998-07-26) 26 July 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
All-rounders
8	Ben Mike	England	(1998-08-24) 24 August 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
16	Rehan Ahmed  ‡	England	(2004-08-13) 13 August 2004 (age 20)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	England central contract
22	Ian Holland  ‡	United States	(1990-10-03) 3 October 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	UK Passport
80	Liam Trevaskis	England	(1999-04-18) 18 April 1999 (age 25)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
Wicket-keepers
7	Ben Cox	England	(1992-02-02) 2 February 1992 (age 33)	Right-handed	–
28	Harry Swindells	England	(1999-02-21) 21 February 1999 (age 25)	Right-handed	—
54	Peter Handscomb  ‡	Australia	(1991-04-26) 26 April 1991 (age 33)	Right-handed	—	Overseas player
Bowlers
18	Matt Salisbury	England	(1993-04-18) 18 April 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
19	Sam Wood	England	(2004-09-11) 11 September 2004 (age 20)	Left-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
20	Josh Hull  ‡	England	(2004-08-20) 20 August 2004 (age 20)	Left-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	England development contract
31	Chris Wright*	England	(1985-07-14) 14 July 1985 (age 39)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
43	Alex Green	England	(2007-02-24) 24 February 2007 (age 17)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
49	Roman Walker	Wales	(2000-08-06) 6 August 2000 (age 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
88	Tom Scriven	England	(1998-11-18) 18 November 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
—	Logan van Beek  ‡	Netherlands	(1990-09-07) 7 September 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	Overseas player

Former captains

See also: List of Leicestershire cricket captains

International players

England Jonathan Agnew Ewart Astill Chris Balderstone Jack Birkenshaw Nigel Briers Stuart Broad Michael Carberry Nick Cook Eddie Dawson Phillip DeFreitas George Geary David Gower Aftab Habib Matthew Hoggard Ken Higgs Ray Illingworth John King Albert Knight Barry Knight

Chris Lewis Tony Lock Darren Maddy Devon Malcolm Alan Mullally Tom New Paul Nixon Jimmy Ormond Charles Palmer Dick Pougher Jeremy Snape Peter Such James Taylor Les Taylor Roger Tolchard Willie Watson Vince Wells James Whitaker Peter Willey Luke Wright

Australia Michael Bevan Brad Hodge Michael Kasprowicz Andrew McDonald Garth McKenzie Mark Cosgrove Bangladesh Shakib Al Hasan India Anil Kumble Virender Sehwag RP Singh Javagal Srinath Varun Aaron Ajinkya Rahane New Zealand Stewie Dempster Pakistan Mohammad Asif Shahid Afridi Abdul Razzaq Sohail Khan Mohammad Abbas

South Africa HD Ackerman Hansie Cronje HH Dippenaar Claude Henderson Charl Langeveldt Charl Willoughby West Indies Winston Benjamin Vasbert Drakes Ottis Gibson Jermaine Lawson Andy Roberts Ramnaresh Sarwan Phil Simmons Jerome Taylor Zimbabwe Neil Johnson

Members of the 2007 squad warming up

Records

Most first-class runs for Leicestershire Qualification – 17,000 runs [3] Player Runs Les Berry 30,143 Maurice Hallam 23,662 John King 22,618 Cecil Wood 21,872 Ewart Astill 19,879 Norman Armstrong 19,001 Nigel Briers 18,726 Maurice Tompkin 18,590 Brian Davison 18,537 Albert Knight 18,142 Chris Balderstone 17,627 Samuel Coe 17,367

Most first-class wickets for Leicestershire Qualification – 600 wickets [4] Player Wickets Ewart Astill 2,131 George Geary 1,759 Terry Spencer 1,320 Jack Walsh 1,127 John King 1,100 Haydon Smith 1,076 Vic Jackson 930 Jack Birkenshaw 908 John Savage 816 William Odell 650 Jonathan Agnew 632

Most first-team winners medals for Leicestershire

• J. C. Balderstone – 6

Batting

• Highest team total: 756-4d v. Sussex, Hove, 2022
• Highest home team total: 638-8d v. Worcestershire, Grace Road, 1996
• Lowest team total: 25 v. Kent, Leicester, 1912
• Highest total against: 761-6d by Essex, Chelmsford, 1990
• Lowest total against: 24 by Glamorgan, Leicester, 1971
• Highest individual score: 309* by HD Ackerman v. Glamorgan, Sophia Gardens, 2006.
• Highest home individual score: 262 by Brad Hodge v. Durham, Grace Road, 2004
• Highest partnership: 477* by C. N. Ackermann and P. W. A. Mulder v. Sussex, Hove, 2022

Best partnership for each wicket (county championship)

• 1st – 390 B. Dudleston and J. F. Steele v. Derbyshire, Leicester, 1979
• 2nd – 320 Hassan Azad and N. J. Dexter v. Gloucestershire, Leicester, 2019
• 3rd – 316* W. Watson and A. Wharton v. Somerset, Taunton, 1961
• 4th – 290* P. Willey and T. J. Boon v. Warwickshire, Leicester, 1984
• 5th – 477* C. N. Ackermann and P. W. A. Mulder v. Sussex, Hove, 2022
• 6th – 284 P. V. Simmons and P. A. Nixon v. Durham, Chester-le-Street, 1996
• 7th – 219* J. D. R. Benson and P. Whitticase v. Hampshire, Bournemouth, 1991
• 8th – 239 L. P. J. Kimber and O. B. Cox v. Sussex, Hove, 2024
• 9th – 160 R. T. Crawford and W. W. Odell v. Worcestershire, Leicester, 1902
• 10th – 228 R. Illingworth and K. Higgs v. Northamptonshire, Leicester, 1977

Bowling

• Most first-class wickets in a season: 170 by Jack Walsh , 1948
• Best bowling figures in an innings: 10–18 by George Geary v. Glamorgan, Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd, 1929
• Best bowling figures in a match: 16–96 by George Geary

Fielding

• Most dismissals in an innings: 7 by Neil Burns v. Somerset, Grace Road, 2001
• Most dismissals in a match: 10 by Percy Corrall v. Sussex, Hove, 1936

Sub Academy

The Leicestershire Sub Academy is designed for young cricketers who have potential to play at the highest level. It is also called the EPP (Emerging Player Programme). Many players who are involved in this set up move on to the LCCC academy, where they will play matches against academies from other counties.

References

1. ACS (1982). A Guide to First-Class Cricket Matches Played in the British Isles. Nottingham: ACS.
2. "Queen of the South FC - Official website". Qosfc.com. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
3. "The Home of CricketArchive". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
4. "The Home of CricketArchive". Cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 4 May 2013.

Further reading

• H S Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
• Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
• Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
• Roy Webber, The Playfair Book of Cricket Records, Playfair Books, 1951
• Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions

External links

• Leicestershire County Cricket Club – Official Site
• Friends of Grace Road - Supporters' Group
• The Meet – Fan's Site
• CricInfo Page
• Cricket Archive Page Archived 24 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine
• BBC Sport Page